Forgive Ryan Bader if he pauses occasionally to pinch himself.
The former two-division Bellator MMA titleholder makes his feature-film debut in “The Smashing Machine,” a forthcoming biopic on two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament winner Mark Kerr that premieres in theaters nationwide this Friday. Bader, 42, portrays Mark Coleman, a chief Kerr rival who later becomes one of his closest friends and confidants. Directed by Benny Safdie, “The Smashing Machine” stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the titular role alongside onetime Academy Award nominee Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr’s love interest and future wife Dawn Staples.