Dwayne Johnson hit 282lb for Benny Safdie's last film - for the next one he cut to 235lb to play a 70-year-old
Dwayne Johnson says he’s shed serious weight for Benny Safdie’s Lizard Music, and the figure he gives in a recent Instagram video is properly eye-watering.
Here’s an odd one for you: Dwayne Johnson has apparently shrunk himself by nearly four stone for his latest venture, with Benny Safdie at the helm. If that’s not what you expected to be reading about The Rock, I’m right there with you.
Dwayne Johnson revealed on Instagram that he dropped to 235lbs for the role in Lizard Music, saying it’s the first time he's been that light since his freshman year playing American football at university.
So, The Rock – yes, the same bloke who was tipping the scales at 282lbs while playing Mark Kerr for The Smashing Machine (also a Safdie picture) – has whittled himself down to 235lbs. That’s close to a 50lb loss, which he claims took him nearly a year to pull off. Why? He’s taking on the part of a 70-year-old man called Chicken Man in Lizard Music, which, frankly, might be one of the more off-the-wall projects he’s signed up for. The transformation is drastic enough that even long-time fans are double-checking his social media to see if it’s a wind-up.
Lizard Music is based on Daniel M. Pinkwater’s book – cue surreal plotlines, a 111-year-old chicken, and late-night lizard broadcasts.
What Is Lizard Music?
Here’s where it gets even stranger. The story is adapted from Daniel M. Pinkwater’s kids’ classic, following a lonely boy who stumbles upon bizarre TV and radio broadcasts featuring – you guessed it – lizards performing music. As the boy digs deeper, he meets Chicken Man (Johnson), who travels with his pet chicken, Claudia, an absolute veteran of the poultry world at 111 years old. Together, they set off to uncover a secret society, but things, inevitably, get much weirder as their journey goes on.
Who Else Is On Board?
- Alicia Silverstone
- Regina Hall
- Tim Heidecker
- …plus a handful of others yet to be shouted about.
Johnson is also serving as producer, sharing duties with Safdie, David Koplan, Nick Nesbitt, and Scott Stubers. This isn’t just a vanity project – Amazon MGM Studios are throwing their weight behind it, with Courtenay Valenti (who heads up their film operation) giving the usual gushing remarks about being 'thrilled' to work with Johnson and Safdie again, after their 'critically acclaimed' previous film together. No one’s underselling the oddity of this one, which makes a nice change.