Dwayne Johnson: From rocky start to Oscar hopeful

Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s surprise Oscars campaign for his first arthouse role in “The Smashing Machine” barreled into the Toronto film festival early this week.

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Johnson, 53, who has earned rave reviews playing fighter Mark Kerr, sat down with an audience before the movie’s North American premiere to reflect on a unique career.

The former grappler and action hero has never lacked bulk. But when Johnson signed up to play Kerr, director Benny Safdie had an unusual request. “Benny, early, said, ‘I don’t know if you’ve ever been told this before, but I think you’re gonna need to gain weight,’” recalled Johnson.

Johnson hit the gym for a few months, gaining 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) of muscle to emulate Kerr’s even-more-gargantuan physique. The role required three to four hours of facial prosthetics every morning before filming.

And to mimic Kerr’s soft speech, Johnson employed a voice coach for the first time in his career - hiring the teacher used by costar Emily Blunt for “Oppenheimer.”