Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s phenomenal acting performance in “The Smashing Machine” had been recognised. The Rock has been a leading actor in Hollywood for more than 20 years, yet he has not been characterised by presenting brilliant performances that would be considered for major awards. This has been altered in 2025.
Dwayne Johnson earns Golden Globe nomination for “The Smashing Machine”
Early this year, Dwayne Johnson starred in a movie titled “The Smashing Machine”, where he portrayed the role of ex-MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Through his intense likeness to Kerr, and also his looking different from his usual appearance, The Rock got a lot of praise for his acting in “The Smashing Machine”, which is a considerable part of his other films also. On the 8th of December, it was officially proclaimed that Dwayne Johnson is among the six candidates for the Golden Globe award for the Best Performance by a Male Actor (Drama) category.
A powerful lineup for Best Actor (Drama) nominees
The Best Actor (Drama) award this year has great candidates for its nominees picture. For the role of Train Dreams, Joel Edgerton received the nomination, while Oscar Isaac got the one for Frankenstein. The nomination of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is for another Laurel, The Smashing Machine. There are three more names in the same category with their extremely potent and amazing performances – Michael B. Jordan, Wagner Moura, and Jeremy Allen White.
Golden Globes 2026: ceremony date and notable nominations
The Golden Globes are considered to be the second most significant awards in Hollywood after the Academy Awards (Oscars). The 83rd Golden Globe Award ceremony will take place on January 11, 2026. Emily Blunt, who stars alongside Johnson in “The Smashing Machine,” is also nominated for the Golden Globes for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture.
The Rock opens up about the personal journey behind ‘The Smashing Machine’
Even though “The Smashing Machine” was highly praised for the performances of Johnson and Blunt, it still found itself to be a financial disaster at the box office. The Rock, during a conversation regarding the movie, expressed his reasons for taking part in the project.
“Smashing Machine also represents a turning point in my career that I’ve wanted for a long time: for the first time in my career, 20 plus years since The Scorpion King came out, I made a film to challenge myself and to really rip myself open and to go elsewhere and disappear and transform, and not one time did I think about box office.
In our world you’re like, “Sh*t, how are we going to look?” And then Friday night comes and you’re like, “Oh man.” You wake up Saturday, and sometimes you wake up feeling good, and sometimes you’re like, “Oh my God, didn’t do well.”
I had not thought about that at all. And even that Friday night when we opened, I went to sleep peacefully and woke up peacefully because it represented this thing. And even though we didn’t do well (at the box office), or as well as we wanted to, it was okay because it just represented the thing I did for me.”
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