Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has acknowledged his weight loss after appearing shocking fans with his slimmed down frame at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.
The 53-year-old Hollywood vet has been promoting his forthcoming film The Smashing Machine, for which he gained 30lbs of muscle to depict MMA fighter Mark Kerr.
His next role will require him to reverse the changes he’s made to his famously chiseled physique.
Johnson will transform into ‘Chicken Man,’ an elderly person whose best friend is a chicken, for a movie called Lizard Music.
‘I still have a long ways to go,’ the star told Variety while discussing the next move in his decades-long career.
‘I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in Smashing Machine. [It means] eating less chicken,’ he quipped.
The project is based on the Daniel Pinkwater novel of the same name, which was originally published in 1976.
A synopsis from Deadline reads: ‘When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open.
‘His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a 70-year-old chicken named Claudia — two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible.
‘United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.’
Johnson, who began his show business career as a WWE wrestler, has generated Oscar buzz following the Smashing Man’s Venice Film Festival premiere.
He stars opposite Emily Blunt, who plays Mark’s girlfriend Dawn Staples in the Benny Safdie film.
They received a 15-minute standing ovation last Tuesday night at the film fest.
During the wild applause, Safdie embraced the lead stars and burst into tears at the reception.
Johnson’s latest roles mark pivotal moment in his acting career as he moves away from action films.
He’s expressed a desire to ‘be taken seriously’ after being ‘pigeonholed’ with his prior silver screen roles.
The showbiz fixture has appeared in successful big budget movies including Jumanji, Moana, and The Fast and the Furious.
He explained at the festival, ‘When you’re in Hollywood — as we all know, it can become about box office.
‘And you chase the box office, and the box office can be very loud and it can become very resounding and it can push you into a category and into a corner — “This is your lane and this is what you do and this is what Hollywood wants you to do.”
‘I understood that, and I did those movies, and it was fun. And some of them did really well. It’s not about proving something to Hollywood as much as it is proving something to me.’
