Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (wearing a wig!) has been shooting MMA fights for the Mark Kerr biopic The Smashing Machine for weeks on a Tokyo Dome ring set in Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum. with hundreds of local background actors as the crowd.
A dark-haired Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn Staples (and later wife) has been spotted on set too..
It’s not one fight but a series of Pride Fighting Championships in Japan, which once billed itself as The Premiere Mixed Martial Arts Contest in the World during the late 1990s and 2000s.
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Kerr aka The Smashing Machine won four fights between Pride 2 and 6 with his ground-and-pound style, taking his opponents down to the mat and then finishing them off quickly with knees to the head and other submission tactics.
Then came Pride 7’s controversial fight in 1999 between Mark Kerr and Igor Vovchanchyn, who is played by World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Oleksandr Usyk in his acting debut.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Oleksandr Usyk.
Kerr overpowered Vovhanchun in size but not in striking power. The Ukranian knocked Kerr out with kick strikes but the win was overturned because of rules (since changed) that didn’t allow them.
Kerr went on to win at the Grand Prix Open Rounds in 2000 but the MMA was changing. At a rematch with Igor Vovchancchyn at Pride 12, the Ukranian won by decision.
The Smashing Machine is a drama based on the story of Mark Kerr, the legendary MMA fighter from the no-holds-barred era of the UFC at the peak of his career. He struggles with addiction, winning, love and friendship in the year 2000.
Related: First Look at The Rock as MMA Fighter Mark Kerr aka The Smashing Machine
The Smashing Machine:
BC filming dates: May 2024 – August 01 2024.
Related: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Shooting MMA Biopic The Smashing Machine in Vancouver
Director: Benny Safdie
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, Ryan Bader, Zoe Kosovic.
Soundstages: Ironwood Studios.
Producers: A24 Films.