The most famous muscular body in the movies belongs to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The fans were surprised to see him in a much slimmer avatar at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Talking professional wrestler turn Hollywood actor revealed that the drastic weight reduction was due to an exciting new role in the upcoming ‘Lizard Music.’ All on why Johnson is metamorphosing his body, what Lizard Music is and what has earned him accolades lately; in The Smashing Machine.
A New Look for a Unique Role
Johnson disclosed his reason for looking so much leaner during the TIFF “In Conversation With…” series held on September 8, 2025. He is reducing weight to do a role of a character known as the Chicken Man in Lizard Music, an adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s novel. And herein lies the uniqueness:
- The Chicken Man: The whimsical and eccentric 70-something-year-old with a best friend who is a chicken also places Johnson in a funnier context than the typically straight tough-guy roles he’s known to play.
- New Challenge: “I’m very excited; it’s like, I get to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in Smashing Machine,” Johnson said eagerly, wanting to be able to portray a different side of his acting.
- “This is me slimmed down,” Johnson said. “I still have a long ways to go.” His transformation has not been completed, but he’s on the way to getting there and working as hard as ever for the right look for the role.
It’s a change that’s ignited a ton of chatter, with fans of the actor noting Johnson’s slender frame at both TIFF and the Venice Film Festival earlier this year.
Lizard Music is a novel by American children’s author Daniel Manus Pinkwater. It was first published in 1976 by Dodd, Mead & Company.
Lizard Music is a novel by American children’s author Daniel Manus Pinkwater. It was first published in 1976 by Dodd, Mead & Company.
Benny Safdie directs the forthcoming Lizard Music. Safdie previously collaborated with Johnson on The Smashing Machine. The film is based on the 1976 children’s novel by Daniel Pinkwater, who wrote the peculiar story known only for its surreal humor and small cult following. It follows a youngster who on one late night finds lizards telecasting music and then later in life, after meeting Chicken Man and his chicken, is involved in a surreal adventure featuring floating islands and lizard musicians from outer space.
Johnson describes how Safdie pitched him the idea: “Benny pitched me this after we wrapped The Smashing Machine, and after about 45 minutes, I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’” It gives Johnson a chance to get out from the action-hero image that has been built around him and flex some of the more whimsical muscles of an emotional character.
Johnson had last directed a much different physical challenge in “The Smashing Machine” a biopic of MMA fighter and UFC heavyweight champion Mark Kerr. He gained around 30 pounds of muscle to embody Kerr in his fighting prime. Lizard Music was filmed and had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2025; the reviews were so excellent that some critics had even started talking of Johnson’s first possible Oscar nomination.
Though that’s the reverse of what he had done between The Smashing Machine and Lizard Music to portray the older, leaner Chicken Man as opposed to the muscle-bound Johnson role, fans at Venice teased him as “The Pebble” after he appeared in his much leaner guise. Reportedly, he has already shed about 60 pounds from the neighborhood of 300 pounds to around 240 and has still more to go.
Setting Himself Free from Action Hero Stereotypes
From Jumanji to the Fast & Furious series, Johnson’s been the cornerstone of many action-packed crowd-pleasers, yet he aspires to don more ‘varied hats.’ “I felt somewhat pigeonholed,” he shared at TIFF as just an action guy, like a superhero essentially, wanting to be challenged. The Smashing Machine and Lizard Music are a couple of those pieces that are more complex, more dramatic, more unique characters.
At a Los Angeles press event, Johnson remarked, “I have this inner voice and burning desire that asks: ‘what if, is there more to achieve?’” He considers Lizard Music as one more vehicle to explore his acting talents…just the way he did on The Smashing Machine, where after a 15-minute standing ovation in Venice, he was in tears.
The Rock Is Likely To Have A Jam-Packed Future
Yet Johnson isn’t quite done with blockbusters. In a chat at TIFF, he made it clear he’s reteaming with Kevin Hart and will begin shooting Jumanji 3 in Nov 2025. “The films that I made in the past, I love them,” he said. “I’ll go back to making them again.” This balance is how Johnson balances his commitment to being an action star with his interest in challenging himself as an actor.
Johnson’s weight loss in Lizard Music represents more than just a change in the body of the actor but dedication to the craft. Transforming one’s body and playing an atypical, offbeat role would show that one was determined not to be stereotyped as “the action guy.” His collaboration with director Benny Safdie, initially in The Smashing Machine and now in Lizard Music, is beginning to transform into an association wherein Johnson is taken seriously as an artist of varied shades.
How he’ll bring the Chicken Man to life is what fans are most excited to see. A whimsical tone and an unusual story for a film will hopefully equal a renewed tale of Johnson’s talents, which is something that’s been getting early buzz.
Transformation of Johnson is also a reminder of how actors use their bodies to tell stories. Just like Joaquin Phoenix lost 52 pounds for Joker in 2020, the weight loss of Johnson reflects his dedication to the role. From bulking up for The Smashing Machine to slimming down for Lizard Music, the journey shows his versatility and determination.
With Oscar prospects increasing for The Smashing Machine and Lizard Music getting ready to roll into production, 2025 looks to be a really big year for Dwayne Johnson. He can be an MMA brute, or a nutty old man with a chicken sidekick – The Rock’s telling the world he can take on just about anything.