The Rock stuns fans with dramatic new physique as footage goes viral
WWE icon The Rock has left fans in disbelief after showing off a drastically different look in viral footage.
The 53-year-old, real name Dwayne Johnson, is the definition of a physical specimen who trains relentlessly at the gym and is fuelled by a crazy strict diet which can total 6,000 calories.
The People's Champion beefed up massively following on from his initial full-time WWE run and is a fitness icon in addition to being a wrestling legend and box office actor.
Though he typically looks the same for the vast majority of his film roles, Johnson underwent a major transformation for 'The Smashing Machine', a biopic about the life of former UFC star Mark Kerr.
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His face and hair looked wildly different in trailer videos shared for the movie, where he stars alongside Emily Blunt.
The film is to be released on 3 October and had its global premier at the the Venice Film Festival, with Johnson appearing and showing up at the Miu Miu Women's Tales event.
Wearing a loose-fitting shirt as he posed for photographers, Johnson appeared much leaner than usual - so much so that fans wondered whether the videos were AI or actually him.
The Rock is going viral for his new slimmed down look 👀
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) September 1, 2025
(GalaFR)
pic.twitter.com/s970cpjG37
One fan on X replied: "That's The Pebble, not The Rock."
A second commented: "Hollywood done cloned the final boss."
A third added: "He’s been on a serious cut!
A fourth said: "Thank goodness. He was way too big for his age. Good to see him slimming down."
A final user weighed in: "This is clearly AI."
Johnson is slated to work with legendary director Martin Scorsese on a Hawaii mob film that will also star Leonardo Di Caprio and Blunt in the near future.
The Rock comments on new project
But after dominating Hollywood and being shoe-horned into a box, he particularly enjoyed his latest project and the ability to do something outside the box.
"I have, for a long time, wanted this," he told Variety.
"The three of us have talked for a very long time about, when you’re in Hollywood — as we all know, it had become about box office. And you chase the box office, and the box office can be very loud and it can become very resounding and it can push you into a category and a corner. This is your lane and this is what you do and this is what Hollywood wants you to do."
"I just had this burning desire and voice that was saying, 'What if there is more and what if I can?' Sometimes it’s hard for us to know what we’re capable of when we’ve been pigeonholed into something.
"It's harder to know what you’re capable of, and sometimes it takes people that you know and love, like Emily and Benny, to say that you can."
Josh Lawless