Exclusive: Mark Kerr Shares Emotional Reaction to His Story Being Told in ‘The Smashing Machine’

Mark Kerr is overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion over his accurate portrayal in The Smashing Machine. The film stars Dwyane Johnson as Kerr, Emily Blunt as his ex-wife Dawn Staples, Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman, and Bas Rutten as himself. 

Now in cinemas, the biopic chronicles Kerr’s life and career from 1997 to 2000, highlighting both his rise in MMA and personal struggles with addiction.

In an exclusive conversation, produced in collaboration with The Game Plan, Kerr opened up about the authenticity of The Smashing Machine, his level of trust with director Benny Safdie and the cast, and the standing ovations received at early screenings. 

Kerr shared his emotional reaction to his life story being adapted into film, following the release of the 2002 documentary of the same name. 

“[It] was scary at first because it’s just one where some of the stuff that went on during that pocket of time in my life, it was scary to open that back up,” Kerr told SportsBoom.com.

“There was just a trust factor with Dwayne [Johnson], Emily [Blunt], and Benny [Safdie], and A24 to bring this thing forward. It’s been therapeutic.” 

Kerr is in a much better place now than he was when the documentary was released. Having maintained his sobriety, he is able to reflect on his journey with greater clarity and vulnerability. 

“I’m so many years removed from it, I’ve been sober for a while now, and that is just a miracle in and of itself, a small miracle.”

“I am in a completely different spot, where I can actually absorb it a different way and look at it a different way, and realize that the importance of this is still important, and life’s not easy.” 

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

The fights and backstage moments in The Smashing Machine closely mirror the events of PRIDE FC, faithfully recreating what actually happened and what was depicted in the original documentary. 

Kerr spoke about the level of detail Safdie went to in making the film as accurate as possible.

“Everybody knew that I was alive, I was a real person. So, they had this care and this reverence for everything they were doing,” Kerr said. 

“The realism, the authenticity of it, everything from what Dwayne was wearing and Emily, all the way across the board. It was just this attention to detail that was just incredible.”

“It just had blown me away with watches, rings, and shirts, setting the environment up and building the house. It was really incredible.” 

While some scenes were condensed or adapted to fit the film’s runtime, the MMA legend noted that the essence of the story was preserved. 

“The whole point of that was still to convey the essence and the feeling that was going on, but the accuracy had to be just expanded a little bit or contracted a little bit. And, it was beautiful.”

“When I watch [the film], everything was on point to the feelings that I had at the time and what was going on.” 

STANDING OVATIONS

The Smashing Machine has screened at several prestigious film festivals, including the Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival [TIFF].

Kerr, along with Safdie, Blunt, and Johnson, have witnessed the real-time reaction from the audience. The film earned standing ovations, which Kerr found deeply moving.

“I think in Venice, it was very overwhelming,” he said.

“Part of that was not knowing or understanding that was the validation that I needed, but I didn’t know I needed it.”

“The feelings of what Venice conveyed was incredible and then watching it at [TIFF], that was a totally different atmosphere, but it was this incredible vibe that it just blew me away. Still to this day, it’s hard for me to describe,” Kerr concluded.