Inside Dwayne Johnson's Dramatic Weight Loss Transformation

Dwayne Johnson has gone through many transformations throughout his career, but he's become totally unrecognizable since losing weight. Whether you know Johnson from the WWE or from his highly lucrative film career that's carried him the past two decades, the first thing that comes to mind about him is his muscular stature. The former wrestler-turned-actor topped 300 pounds at his buffest, regularly feasted on a diet that would be unsustainable for the average person, and conjured up rumors about steroid use, though he's denied using them outside of young adulthood. Either way, Johnson's career has largely been boosted by his physique, and now he's undergone another weight loss transformation.

The Rock is currently going viral after losing a lot of muscle👀 pic.twitter.com/joGhS4GMo1

— kira 👾 (@kirawontmiss) September 1, 2025

While most of Johnson's movies take advantage of his muscular stature, his new role as Mark Kerr in "The Smashing Machine," required him to slim down about 60 pounds. He debuted his new physique at the Venice Film Festival, inspiring shock and surprise in his fans. While chatting with The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson spoke about his motivation for dropping the pounds. "This transformation was something I was really hungry to do," Johnson shared in September 2025. "I had been very fortunate to have the career that I've had over the years and to make the films that I've made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, 'Well, what if I could do more..."

Dwayne Johnson worked hard to drop the weight for "The Smashing Machine." During an interview with Men's Health, the actor revealed that he worked out four hours a day, alternating between MMA fighting, cardio and strength training. Mark Kerr's physiology helped to influence how Johnson worked out. "He [Mark] had this silhouette that was very unique," shared the star. "It was very specific training, because if you think about it, Mark as an amateur wrestler, there's movements that he would do constantly all day that would just build certain fast-twitch muscles that in my fifth level of life [make it difficult]."

Unfortunately, Johnson didn't reveal what dietary changes he had to make while training for the role. However, something tells us he was indulging in a lot less of his famous, calorie-dense, artery-clogging cheat meals that he used as a reward for otherwise-disciplined living. However, even Johnson's daily caloric intake, which averaged out to about 5,000 calories and amounted to him ingesting about 10 pounds of food every single day, per FiveThirtyEight, probably would've made dropping 60 pounds rather difficult, so it's likely he also made cuts to his maintenance diet as well. Either way, it's clear that Johnson's hard work paid off, as he looks completely different these days. Let's just hope that he doesn't become one of those actors whose careers crashed after losing weight.