‘I don’t think you’ll see a better performance’: Christopher Nolan heaps praise on Dwayne Johnson’s ‘The Smashing Machine’

LOS ANGELES: Ace filmmaker Christopher Nolan is all praise for Dwayne Johnson’s latest Oscar campaign, ‘The Smashing Machine’. ‘The Smashing Machine’ opened in theatres on October 3.

Nolan, during his recent appearance on a podcast alongside the ‘Smashing Machine’ director Benny Safdie, showered the film with a lot of praise, while also hailing Johnson’s performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr.

Describing it as “heartbreaking”, Nolan said, “I think it’s an incredible performance. I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years,” as quoted by Variety.

Nolan and Safdie previously collaborated in ‘Oppenheimer’, which also featured ‘The Smashing Machine’ star Emily Blunt in an Oscar-nominated role.

Christopher Nolan praises Dwayne Johnson in #TheSmashingMachine: “I think it’s an incredible performance. I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years.”

“It’s a really remarkable and radical piece of work that will be understood more and more over… pic.twitter.com/an5kv6l6tx

— Variety (@Variety) October 15, 2025

In a light-hearted comment, Nolan added, “I heard a rumour that when you were supposed to be learning your lines on my set, you were actually canvassing people to be in your movie. I wasn’t aware of that at the time, but it seems to have worked out great for you”.

The ‘Interstellar’ director also congratulated Safdie and said, “It’s a really remarkable and radical piece of work that will be understood more and more over time. I’m very proud to know you.”

Coming back to the film, ‘The Smashing Machine’ features Dwayne Johnson as two-time UFC heavyweight champ Mark Kerr. Blunt is seen portraying Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples. The film traces Kerr and Dawn’s volatile relationship amid the former’s professional highs and lows in MMA, also focusing on his substance and abuse struggles.

Made on a $50 million production budget, the film delivered an average performance at the box office with a $5.9 million opening – a career-low for Johnson, as per Variety.

“In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere. And I will always run to that opportunity,” Dwayne Johnson said in a statement after the film’s release. (ANI)