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It all began with a shared knowing nod between two imposing figures at a Santa Monica Gold’s Gym in the summer of 1997. One-time Olympic wrestling contender Mark Kerr was training for his first Ultimate Fighting Championship bout, following his commanding performance in a three-match, one-night tournament in Brazil only two months prior. Dwayne “Rocky Maivia” Johnson, a former NFL prospect benched with a knee injury suffered during his sophomore year with the WWE, approached him.

“Would you join me for lunch?” Johnson inquired Kerr, who consented to meet at the Firehouse restaurant in Santa Monica. Their conversation inevitably drifted to mixed martial arts, as Johnson bombarded the collegiate wrestling titleholder with specific questions about the unregulated sport. MMA was growing in popularity in Japan, where several promotions hired pro wrestlers for hybrid fights.

“How’s this organization to work for? Are the payments reliable and timely? What does the schedule look like? I sensed from his questions that he was seriously contemplating his options,” said Kerr, age 29 at the time. “I questioned him why he’d leave the WWE, which appeared much more of a secure choice than fighting. When he told me he was losing out financially on the road, traveling 250 days a year for $150,000, I understood.”

The two exchanged numbers and parted ways, two ships passing in the night. Kerr defected from the UFC to Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships the following year for earnings topping $200,000, while the babyface “Maivia” returned to the WWE and turned heel, thanks to Vince McMahon. “The Rock” emerged soon after and the attention-grabbing Johnson’s career rapidly snapped into place.

The Rise and Fall of a Titleholder

Between 1997 and 2000, Kerr was the top-ranked MMA heavyweight in the world. His record climbed to 11-0, but it was a hectic pace few competitors could maintain for long. Kerr was well-acquainted to drugs; a trainer had exposed him to steroids in his initial fights. Now, Kerr needed pain management from decades of cumulative pain to enhance his endurance for Pride’s grueling 10-minute rounds. Kerr had damaged cartilage in his ribcage that pained him with every breath.

“There was always an abundance of doctors [in Arizona] who’d provide me opioids,” Kerr stated, “and if one refused, I’d just move onto the next.”

Kerr was hooked to Vicodin in a few months, a skipped dose creating anxiety, abdominal pain and fatigue. Having prior experience to intravenous drugging, popping pills quickly evolved into shooting liquid straight into his veins. Kerr concealed his Nubain and morphine bottle in the guest bathroom out of sight from his girlfriend, Dawn. He injected every morning, sometimes waking hours later slumped over the toilet when he’d overmedicated.

Mark Kerr, right, battles Moti Horenstein during UFC 14 at Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama, on 27 July 1997.

A camera crew captured this phase on film, which became the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine. By then, Kerr’s MMA career was over. When he encountered Johnson a second time in 2003, it was a complete turnaround. “The Rock”, having been put over by Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania XVIII the year prior, was a genuine superstar with two movies under his belt. Johnson raved to Kerr about the documentary, as the MMA fighter worried over his decision to expose his troubled side. Kerr hadn’t been offered a fight in over two years. He was no longer an intravenous user, but alcoholism had become Kerr’s constant struggle; he could consume four bottles of red wine in one session. By the time another Pride offer came around, Kerr was nowhere near fighting shape. On the sport’s largest stage, he knocked himself out seconds into the contest with, ironically, an poorly executed takedown that sent his head slamming into the canvas.

Personal Struggles and Fresh Starts

Kerr married Dawn and they had a son, Bryce, in 2004. Their marriage remained volatile for years, as Kerr balanced drinking and the odd personal-training job between fights. After his final defeat in 2009, Kerr had no choice but to call it a day. A tarnished former champion was of no use to fight promoters. Kerr switched to automobile sales, but dreaded getting noticed by potential buyers.

“I could always tell when someone noticed me, even if they didn’t mention it,” commented Kerr. “They always got the same look on their face, as if to say, ‘What happened to you?’”

Meanwhile, in 2009, Johnson landed yet another lead part in Return to Witch Mountain, his 11th film. Soon, Dwayne Johnson, without “the Rock,” would become a household name.

As Johnson’s path ascended over the next decade, Kerr’s took a nosedive. There was frequent career changes and three periods in rehab. Dawn divorced him, but their volatile relationship persisted as they tried to raise together their son. Finally, it was the 14-year-old Bryce’s request that halted Kerr’s self-destruction in September 2018.

“It was the yearly remembrance of my mother’s death and Bryce said he knew today was a tough day for me, but requested if I could quit drinking the day after,” shared Kerr. “How could I not heed his words?”

A Second Chance and Hollywood Interest

Kerr was 10 months clean when Brad Slater, Johnson’s longtime agent, rang about obtaining the MMA pioneer’s life rights. The call was completely unexpected. Kerr and Johnson hadn’t communicated in 12 years, and Johnson, the movie star, now had more influence over the roles he chose. Johnson had always remembered about Kerr’s documentary and privately had hoped he’d get to play the rugged, yet vulnerable fighter.

Hiram Garcia, David Koplan, Mark Kerr, Dwayne Johnson, Benny Safdie, Emily Blunt and Andrea Romeo attend the red carpet of the movie The Smashing Machine at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Johnson announced the film at a UFC press conference in September 2019. His Seven Bucks Productions would be at the ship’s helm, with writer-director Benny Safdie its rudder. Safdie set to work converting the documentary into a screenplay, drawing from Kerr for extra scenes to develop Mark and Dawn’s relationship.

“When the global health crisis hit in March 2020, I thought it was over for the film,” admitted Kerr, who’d resigned himself to a quiet Arizona life. “If it was destined, it would all fall into place.”

In recovery, Kerr reconnected with a gym friend named Franci. They began seeing each other during the pandemic and would wed on New Year’s Eve 2023.

During the pandemic, Kerr didn’t hear a peep from Johnson, Safdie or Seven Bucks, but sometime during the 57-day shoot for Oppenheimer, Safdie persuaded co-star Emily Blunt to watch the documentary. Blunt, a longtime friend of Johnson’s, right away called her Jungle Cruise co-star, telling him the time was now to get the film done. Blunt agreed to play Kerr’s girlfriend, Dawn, and the fire was lit.

Kerr received another call from Slater in September 2023, but this time there was a filming date that spring. Kerr toured the Vancouver film set that April and filming began that May. According to Johnson’s request, Kerr didn’t go to the set during shooting.

“DJ had never played a living person before and I respected that approach,” noted Kerr. “I’m glad I stayed away. When my son saw the film, he couldn’t believe how DJ got down my [softer] speech and mannerisms. My very own child!”

Indeed, Johnson’s turn as Kerr is convincing, especially for those that know the retired fighter. Johnson received a 16-minute applause for the film at the Venice Film Festival, while the creative Safdie took home its distinguished director’s prize.

For the 56-year-old Kerr, it’s a second chance at notoriety, however fleeting that might be. Johnson has been adamant that Kerr be at his side for the majority of the film’s promotional tour.

“It’s amazing that a seemingly minor decision I made years ago, to keep the [documentary] cameras rolling while my life crashed and burned, grew into all this,” expressed Kerr, who plans to write a book next. “I couldn’t be happier with how this all turned out and I can honestly say that I’ve made friends for life from it.”