Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is receiving a nod from the Golden Globes this year for his exhilarating performance in The Smashing Machine. Earlier today, the WWE superstar was announced as a nominee for his inaugural Golden Globe Award in the Best Performance by a Male Actor (Drama) category for his role in the film.
In a recent conversation with Beatrice Verhoeven of The Hollywood Reporter, The Rock shared his emotions when he first heard the news. "Today has been nothing short of surreal," he admitted. "I sleep with my phone in airplane mode by my bed. When I wake up, I know the nominations are happening, but I also know I have to get up with the babies at 6:05 a.m. So I take it out of airplane mode and start my day.
"As I'm getting ready to wake up the babies, I hear a buzz on my phone. I thought, 'Oh, I got one text. That can't be good.' I grab my phone and see that my first text is from Ryan Coogler. I knew he wasn't texting me to say 'Hey, I'm sorry.' So I opened it and he said 'Congratulations, brother.' That's when I realized that the one buzz was just the beginning of about 250 texts, but Ryan was the one who broke the news to me."
When asked what this recognition means to him, The Rock spoke from the heart with deep emotion. "There are a few things," he began. "One of them is the importance of listening to that little voice inside you that at times whispers and at times pounds on your chest, telling you that you can do more and there is more. It can be scary because it will require you to step out of your comfort zone. And when things are going well, you don't want to do that because it's comfortable.
"But there was more: I wanted to push and challenge myself and chase that challenge. I had something very special to me, which was the story of The Smashing Machine. It's been a long journey with Benny [Safdie] about this for seven years now. So it represents believing in and listening to that little voice, and also doing the work, even when it's scary, and surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are chasing the challenge as well. That would be Benny, Emily, and Kazu [Hiro], who helped with this transformation every day.
"On top of that, I think the nomination represents the fight in everybody, especially with addictions and those demons that we all battle. Mark Kerr had it all and lost everything, then became sober and made it. Not everyone is that lucky. That's the movie we wanted to make: a nod to those who fight. But last week, I realized something: over the years, I've lost 15 friends who are wrestlers and fighters to addiction. Some overdosed, some decided to check out. Life was too hard for them. It shook me, but then it stabilized me in a way like 'Okay, I'm so happy we made this film.' It's a love letter to those I just talked about. That's why this nomination means so much to me."
