Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stepped into the spotlight at the Venice Film Festival this week with a role that showed a very different side of him. 

The Hollywood star, known for blockbuster action and comedy films, admitted that not every project he worked on was a hit and that he often felt stuck in one box.

The 53 year old actor won praise for his powerful performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, which premiered at the festival. 

Speaking to reporters, Dwayne explained that carried the desire to try something deeper and more challenging.

“But what if there is more and what if I can?” he said, adding that being “pigeonholed” in Hollywood made it harder to show his range.

He reflected on his past movies with honesty. “I liked them and they were fun, and some were really good and did well and some not so good,” he admitted. 

While he enjoyed many of those roles, the actor confessed that chasing box office numbers often forced him into the same kind of parts.

However, the Hollywood icon further shared that his focus now shifted as he no longer felt the need to prove anything to Hollywood and wanted to follow his own dreams. “Am I living my dream or am I living other people’s dreams?” he asked. 

With his latest performance, Dwayne Johnson said he finally got the chance to go deep, raw and intense in ways he once avoided.