Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson delivered a career-defining performance as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. Despite the acclaim, he failed to secure an Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category. This has drawn severe online backlash, with many fans certain that he should have at least gotten the nomination.
Fans react to Dwayne Johnson not getting an Oscar nod for The Smashing Machine
Fans have been claiming Dwayne Johnson delivered the greatest performance of his lifetime in The Smashing Machine. However, it did not land him among the five nominees for the coveted Best Actor Oscar. The honor went to Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent), Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), and Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon).
But Johnson fans believe that the actor’s performance deserved a nomination. Even when The Smashing Machine premiered, the actor’s performance was singled out in a film that otherwise saw a divisive response from critics. Fans took to social media platforms like X to talk about this and repeatedly claimed that Dwayne Johnson deserved an Oscar nod.
“Where’s Dwayne Johnson? He absolutely smashed in Smashing Machine,” one user wrote while sharing The Academy’s post about the Best Actor nominees. Another user wrote, “The Oscars snubbed Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Joe Rogan, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck talk about how good The Rock’s performance as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in ‘The Smashing Machine’ was. Even Christopher Nolan said it was the best performance of the year,” sharing a video from Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Another shocked user added, “I am shocked that Dwayne Johnson was not nominated for best actor for his performance in Killing (Smashing) Machine. What he did in that film will be studied actors till the end of time.” Another user said, “He should’ve, that was his best performance to date,” sharing a post that announced the snub. So, it seems that even though Dwayne Johnson could not get his name on the Oscar slate, he has won the hearts of millions of fans across the world.
Originally written by Sourabh Chakraborty on Mandatory.
