Original title: Dwayne Johnson: I was pigeon-holed as box office star
Dwayne Johnson: I was pigeon-holed as box office star 5 hours ago Share Save Steven McIntosh Entertainment reporter at the Venice Film Festival Share Save A24 Johnson, pictured in The Smashing Machine, said he had “been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now” 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, Baywat