Dwayne Johnson on the 'gnawing' urge to leave his acting 'comfort zone'

‘The Smashing Machine’ stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt who spoke to ITV News’ Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda

Actor and former wrestler, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, has told ITV News he wanted to leave his “comfort zone” as an actor ahead of the release of his new film ‘The Smashing Machine’.

Johnson stars in the biographical film as former MMA fighter Mark Kerr, as he deals with addiction, while Emily Blunt plays as his then-wife Dawn Staples.

The film is a departure from Johnson’s usual style of films, with the former WWE wrestler more well-known for big-budget action films.

He told ITV News’ Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda he wanted to star in ‘The Smashing Machine’ so he could grow as an actor.

“It was a little voice behind my ribcage that was gnawing at me and whispering to me for a very long time now.

“The instinct would be ‘why rock the boat?’ You can stay in this comfort zone and make these movies that are big and they’re fun and a lot of people like them. Some do good, and some flop.

“I wanted to grow and challenge myself.”

The film received a 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival and has now been tipped to win an Oscar at the Academy Awards in January.

‘The Smashing Machine’ will be released in UK cinemas on Friday.