Even The Rock isn’t impervious to the grind of an intensely physical acting role. Dwayne Johnson revealed this week that he has sustained a nasty elbow injury while filming the upcoming A24 drama The Smashing Machine – showing off gruesome video evidence of his swollen “cantaloupe” battle scar.
In an Instagram video posted Tuesday, Johnson displays his right elbow which has ballooned to massive proportions, likely the result of some soft tissue damage based on the amount of fluid built up. The actor gives fans a direct look at the gnarly injury site while standing in his kitchen.
“I got banged up pretty good today in our scenes,” Johnson says matter-of-factly, adding with a wry chuckle, “That’s a lot of fluid, we’ll see. I’ve got to get it out of there first before I can get any kind of MRI.”
The dramatic project from acclaimed directors Benny and Josh Safdie marks one of Johnson’s most intense acting challenges to date as he portrays real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Fully committing to the role’s physicality seems to have taken its toll, but The Rock is clearly taking the war wound like a pro.
“My dad always used to say, ‘A day without pain is like a day without sunshine, boy,'” he recounts with a grin, asking fans for anti-inflammatory tips before jokingly tipping back a glass of his own Teremana tequila brand as the preferred remedy.
This isn’t the first time Johnson has pushed his body to extremes for a role. He underwent an intense training regimen to bulk up for the film, sharing a photo last month of his massively muscled legs after a vigorous “leg day.”
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Still, as someone with a long history of wrestling injuries, even The Rock knows to respect the limitations of the human body – no matter how herculean his own may seem.
The Smashing Machine, which co-stars Emily Blunt as Kerr’s wife Dawn, promises to showcase Johnson’s most “dramatic” performance yet for the critically-adored A24 studio. While a release date is still unknown, the film represents a major shift for the action star towards more intense character dramas.
If getting “banged up” is the price for flexing his thespian muscles, it seems Johnson is willing to endure the “sunshine” of some bodily pain. Thankfully, with tequila and an invaluable life lesson from his dad, at least he has some co-remedies to dull the sting.
