US actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has said he had a "burning desire" to make a different kind of film, after years of being "pigeon-holed" as a blockbuster star.
The 53-year-old could be in line for the first Oscar nomination of his career for his role in The Smashing Machine, which has just launched at the Venice Film Festival.
Johnson said playing UFC fighter Mark Kerr in the movie had "certainly changed my life", adding that the transformation was something he was "really hungry to do".
He told journalists: "I've been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now, until I had this opportunity to do this."
Johnson is best known for his roles in big-budget movies such as Jumanji, San Andreas, Black Adam, Moana, Baywatch and the Fast & Furious franchise.
The Smashing Machine, directed by Benny Safdie, sees Johnson reunite with his Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr's girlfriend Dawn Staples.
Asked about his motivation for taking on the role, Johnson explained: "I have wanted this for a long time.
"When you're in Hollywood, as we all know, it had become about box office and you chase the box office. And the box office in our business is very loud, it can be very [overwhelming].
"It can push you into a corner and category - 'This is your lane, this is what you do, and this is what people want you to be and this is what Hollywood wants you to be'.
"And I understood that, and I made those movies and I liked them and they were fun, and some were really good and did well, and some not so good!" he laughed.
"But I think what I did realise is I just had this burning desire and this voice that was just saying, 'what if there's more, what if I can?'
"Sometimes it's hard to know what you're capable of when you've been pigeon-holed into something. It's harder to know 'wait, can I do that? I feel like I can'. And sometimes it takes people who you love and respect to say 'you can'."
Johnson, also known as The Rock from his own earlier career in wrestling, added he didn't think playing the role was "about anything to prove to Hollywood as much as it is for me, internally".
Johnson's performance 'a revelation'
Johnson has been praised by critics in early reviews of the film. Variety's Owen Gleiberman described his performance as "a revelation", adding that he "seems like a new actor".
In a four-star review, the Telegraph's Robbie Collin said: "His performance is warm, sincere and admirably ego-less, while some phenomenally delicate facial prosthetics alter his appearance just enough that you see his character, rather than The Rock, looming up on the screen."
IndieWire's Ryan Lattanzio concluded: "While The Smashing Machine doesn't play like easy awards catnip, Johnson earns a sizeable position among this year's prize-seekers."
Normally in a Dwayne Johnson film, you're never more than about four minutes away from the next explosion or car chase.
The Smashing Machine is a different kettle of fish, focusing on the world of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and how prominent a figure Kerr was in the early years of the sport in the 1990s.
As explained early in the film, UFC involves all kinds of fighting in the same ring. One fighter might be a boxer, while his opponent could come from a wrestling or karate background. More or less anything goes in the battle to be the last one standing.
"Around that time, there was something so experimental about what was going on," explains director Safdie, one half of the Safdie brothers, whose screen credits include Uncut Gems.
"You had all of these different martial arts forms competing against one another, and it was just such a unique sport.
"And it was also such a close-knit community where everybody knew one another and loved one another, and to have that contradiction of this fighting world but this love between them was something that was really beautiful to me, and I wanted to explore that."
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