Dwayne Johnson Sheds Tears Over 'Smashing Machine' Standing Ovation

Dwayne Johnson is starring in the Mark Kerr biopic, "The Smashing Machine". The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Johnson received a 15-minute standing ovation. The move brought the WWE champion to tears. 

Standing ovations at film festivals are fairly common now and some critics debate that it's now used as a marketing tool. Ramin Setoodeh, Variety's co-Editor in Chief, posted a clip to X of Johnson's reaction. He said, "Dwayne Johnson weeps during 15-minute #Venezia2025 standing ovation for 'The Smashing Machine.' This was the most emotion we've since (sic) on the Lido since Brendan Fraser launched his Oscar campaign here four years ago for 'The Whale'.

The film marks Johnson's first serious role. Most recently, he voiced the popular character, Maui in the "Moana" movies. He also played Black Adam in the film with the same name, which was marred by criticism. Johnson has also been part of the "Fast & Furious" series, "Jumanji", and "The Red One". In the latter, Johnson was accused of being " an average of 7 or 8 hours [late] per day." Other sources say he was "not more than an hour late to set." The NBC series, "Young Rock" was based on his life as the child of the late Rocky Johnson and the start of his wrestling career. 

In "The Smashing Machine", Johnson portrays two-time UFC champion, Mark Kerr at the height of his career and includes his opioid addiction. Emily Blunt costars as Kerr's girlfriend, Dawn Staples. The film is set in the late 1990s. The A24 release comes to theaters on October 3.