Dwayne Johnson, 53, stuns fans with ‘much slimmer’ frame and ‘loss of muscle mass’ while promoting The Smashing Machine – as he voices desire to be seen as ‘a serious actor’

Dwayne Johnson has stunned fans with his ‘much slimmer’ frame, after unveiling a new look during the Venice Film Festival.

The former WWF star, who shot to fame under his moniker The Rock in the wrestling ring, is currently blazing the promo trail with his movie The Smashing Machine.

The star is depicting former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr in the biographical movie, where he is deemed unrecognisable after being transformed by heavy prostethics and a black wig.

After images came to light of Dwayne at the Venice Film Festival fans swarmed X to note he appeared slimmer than his usual beefcake look, with social media users musing over his apparent weight loss and reduction in muscle.

The speculation came as he spoke about his desire to ‘be taken seriously’ as an actor, after years of being pigeonholed in roles.

Dwayne Johnson has stunned fans with his ‘much slimmer’ frame, after unveiling a new look during the Venice Film Festival (pictured left, on Sunday in Venice, right, in 2020 in his gym)

X users quickly flooded the microblogging site with comments about his image, writing: ‘People are stunned seeing The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) leaner than ever. This isn’t just a new diet or Ai—it’s a conscious medical and lifestyle shift’

His image transformation came in conjunction with the release of The Smashing Machine (pictured on Monday in Venice)

‘Here’s what’s really going on… Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is looking slimmer… #DwayneJohnson aka The Rock has lost a staggering 60lbs and is looking very slim… The Rock “Dwayne Johnson” after losing so much muscle mass.’

Away from online speculatopn, the star told of his ‘dreams’ to be recognised as a serious actor following his wildly successful pivot from wrestling to acting.

He has appeared in hit big budget movies such as Jumanji, Moana and The Fast and the Furious, he is now aiming for something bigger than the box office – and hopes to get an Oscar with The Smashing Machine.

The movie, by super-indie A24, tells the story of the MMA star Mark, and his struggles with substance abuse and domestic dramas, as well as his sporting journey at a point when the wrestling phenomenon had yet to become a big cultural noise.

This is Dwayne’s first-ever film festival and in Venice on Monday he said that he was at last appearing in the kind of projects which he wanted to.

He said: ‘When you’re in Hollywood — as we all know, it can become about box office. And you chase the box office, and the box office can be very loud and it can become very resounding and it can push you into a category and into a corner…

To embody the part of the former wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter (left), Dwayne (right) wore a dark wig and had facial prosthetics applied

Dwayne stars opposite Emily Blunt in the movie. She plays Mark’s then-wife Dawn Staples (the duo pictured in the film)

Dwayne has been extremely candid about his incredible gym routine yet fans voiced wonderment over whether he had pared-back his activity

Dwayne started his showbiz career as wrestler The Rock on WWF (pictured in the ring in 2000)

‘This is your lane and this is what you do and this is what Hollywood wants you to do.

‘I understood that, and I did those movies, and it was fun. And some of them did really well. It’s not about proving something to Hollywood as much as it is proving something to me. A few years ago I started to ask myself, am I living my dream or am I living other peoples dreams.

‘You come to that recognition and I think you can either fall in line — ‘Well, it’s status quo, things are good, I don’t want to rock the boat — or go, I want to live my dreams now and do what I wanna do and tap into the stuff that I want to tap into and have a place finally to put all this stuff that I’ve experienced in the past that I’ve shied away from. I’ve been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now, until I had this opportunity.’

Johnson wears prosthetics to play the two time world heavyweight UFC champ Mark, and also had to train in a different way – and was even asked if he could ‘bulk up’ by director Benny Safdie.

Emily has spoken of her pride at Dwayne breaking free of his trademark roles

Dwayne is known for his hulking frame hence shock from fans at his seemingly ‘slimmed down’ look

The real Mark Kerr joined the cast at the Venice Film Festival on Monday

Johnson said that the real Mark Kerr was a glorious contradiction because of his gentleness and empathy in a powerful frame. Asked if the same was true of him, co-star Emily Blunt said: ‘He’s like pudding underneath.’ Dwayne shot back: ‘That’s my nickname on weekends – pudding.’

The son of a professional wrestler, Dwayne said that he was not inspired by his own father in the portrayal. ‘My dad was homeless at 13, so his capability for love was very limited. That’s the man that raised me – tough love,’ he said.

The real Mark Kerr was in the audience at the press conference on Monday and Dwayne asked him to stand up and take the applause of the audience.

Dwayne said: ‘Mark’s life has changed our lives and certainly changed my life as well. As we found with the film, it’s not about the wins or the losses, it’s also a film about what happens when winning becomes the enemy.’

Dwayne’s co-star Emily plays his girlfriend Dawn Staples. Both actors got close to their counterparts during the process. Blunt said: ‘I got to know Dawn well and she was very generous with her story with me.’

Mark Kerr was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, a Pride FC heavyweight champion, 1992 NCAA national wrestling champion, 1994 National Freestyle Champion, and 4x ADCC World Submission Champion.

In 2003, he was the subject of an HBO documentary titled The Smashing Machine, which detailed his MMA career fighting in Vale Tudo, the UFC, and Pride.