Benny Safdie set out to create “The Smashing Machine,” and he made a decision that would define the film’s authenticity. Rather than have actors rehearse and perform choreographed training sequences, the director allowed something unusual to happen on set: real coaching, captured live on camera.
Inside The Smashing Machine: Bas Rutten’s Hands-On Coaching for Dwayne Johnson
Bas Rutten, the UFC Hall of Famer who trained Mark Kerr in real life during the late 1990s, appears in the film as himself. What viewers see on screen is not acting in the traditional sense. It’s Rutten actually teaching Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson techniques, with cameras rolling to capture the genuine interaction between coach and student.