Dwayne Johnson Breaks Silence on His Drastic Weight Loss, Says ‘It’s About My Health, Not Just Roles’

Dwayne Johnson reveals the real reason behind his drastic weight loss at The Smashing Machine premiere. The Rock opens up about health, fitness, mental well-being, and his journey to redefine himself as an actor.

WWE wrestler and actor Dwayne Johnson surprised everyone, including his fans, by turning up for the premiere of The Smashing Machine in a new, leaner-out style. The actor had developed a lot of muscle to play real-life UFC fighter Matt Kerr in the film, which got viewers curious about his new makeover. During a recent career retrospective interview at the Toronto Film Festival, The Rock discussed his weight loss.

Dwayne Johnson's Weight Loss Journey

Talking about the kind of roles he has done in the past and his transformation into the 'Chicken Man', Dwayne Johnson said, "I felt for a few years I was pigeonholed because I allowed it to happen. The films that I made in the past I love them. I'll go back to making them again. But I'm so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in Smashing Machine because it means eating less chicken." He added that even though he has lost almost all of the muscle he gained for Lizard Music, there is "still a long way to go."

Johnson has always been associated with power and strength, and over the years usually displays his hard workouts and rigorous diets through social media. However, he articulated that it was not related to the weight loss process as getting ready to assume a new position or aiming at a particular body image. It was rather making his own health his priority.

Over time, Johnson confessed to the fact that the intense training, adding and keeping on of weight, and grind had finally taken its toll on his body. He had wear and tear due to the long hours of work access, a lot of physical work demanded by the fierce actors of movies, and his past in wrestling of the profession. His physicians suggested to him re-evaluating his lifestyle and taking into consideration the well-being rather than the size and strength, alone.

Dwayne Johnson's Emotional and Mental Well-Being

Mental health was yet another key factor that caused his transformation. Johnson has openly discussed his battle with depression before in the past and this time he wanted to ensure that his models were consistent with his adjustments to the emotional well-being. Slimming down, consuming healthier, and choosing moderation over any extremes made him feel lesser not only in physical sense, but in cognitive aspects as well.

He discussed the radical change in his lifestyle that provided him with extra energy, sleep augmentation and lowered his stress. Its experience has been like freedom to stop being in spotlight since Johnson had always been in the limelight, he said.

Dwayne has spent the majority of his career working on action franchises, and his part as Matt represents an attempt to redefine himself as an actor. During the conversation, he disclosed that shortly after filming The Smashing Machine, director Ben Safdie offered him another job. "Benny pitched me a film after The Smashing Machine. After about 45 minutes, this pitch ended, and I said, 'I am your Chicken Man.'" The movie is called Lizard Music, and the actor will play a septuagenarian whose best buddy is a 70-year-old chicken.