What happened to Mark Kerr? The Smashing Machine true story

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I’ve been a fan of Dwayne Johnson for years, but honestly, up until now, his movies haven’t really given him a chance to *show* what he can do as an actor. It’s been a lot of fun, silly comedies and those big, explosive action films – which are great, don’t get me wrong! – but they haven’t really challenged him to stretch his acting abilities. His filmography is full of them, and while I enjoy them, I’m hoping he gets more roles that really let him shine.

However, things are different now thanks to his leading role as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s new movie, The Smashing Machine. This performance has quickly established him as a strong possibility for an Oscar nomination – and potentially even a win – for Best Actor at next year’s Academy Awards.

The film takes place between 1997 and 2000, following Kerr’s journey to the top of his sport. It also shows the difficult challenges he faced in his personal life, and features Emily Blunt as his girlfriend at the time, Dawn Staples.

So, how much of the movie’s story is actually based on real events, and what became of Mark Kerr afterward? Keep reading to find out everything you need to know.

What happened to Mark Kerr? The Smashing Machine true story

The movie draws inspiration from the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, which was directed by John Hyams. Generally, it presents a pretty truthful depiction of Kerr’s life during the late 1990s.

The film follows Kerr’s journey as he achieves significant success in Mixed Martial Arts. However, this success seems to come at a cost, as he struggles with mental health challenges, substance abuse, and a difficult, unhealthy relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn Staples.

The movie reaches its climax at the 2000 PRIDE Fighting Championship finals in Japan, showing him losing to Japanese fighter Kazuyuki Fujita – an outcome that accurately reflects what actually occurred in real life.

While Kerr experienced a professional setback, he’s made considerable improvements in his battle with addiction and has reconciled his relationship with Staples. This aligns fairly closely with what actually happened – Kerr and Staples did get married in 2000, though they are now divorced.

Additionally, the movie adjusts the sequence of events a bit, but Kerr ultimately succeeded in overcoming his struggles with addiction. He shared in a recent interview that he has been sober for seven years now.

It took me a moment to process that, as it was a significant realization,” he explained while speaking to TIME. “I was able to overcome what felt like an impossible situation, both physically and mentally.”

Following the film’s events, Kerr continued competing for several years, but didn’t quite achieve the same level of success he’d had before. He retired in 2009 and is now celebrated as a pioneer in MMA, and a crucial person in making the sport more popular. He’s remembered as a key figure who helped grow the game.

I was reading an interview with Kerr on Indiewire the other day, and he was talking about his new film. He basically said he really wanted to be honest and didn’t want to hold back when it came to portraying the more difficult parts of his own life. He didn’t want to sugarcoat anything, you know?

He explained to the publication that the story explores what it means to be human, encompassing both the positive, negative, and neutral aspects of life. Dwayne, Emily, and Benny, he said, all connected with these nuances and were keen to showcase them.

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2025-10-03 17:34