Dwayne Johnson aged decades — thanks to the magic of cinema — to play an elderly person in his upcoming film, “Lizard Music.”
The “Moana” actor, 54, was photographed Tuesday on the set of the upcoming project in Coney Island, Brooklyn, wearing a beige trench coat, floppy hat and sneakers matched with a blue shirt and tie as he filmed outdoor scenes alongside child actor Theo Clark Leber.
Both carried a slice of cheese pizza, with Leber also carrying a large green lizard stuffed animal.
With his gray face and what appeared to be facial prosthetics, the WWE alumnus was a shadow of his usual self, with only his square jaw and tall stature hinting at his identity.
The film – due for release next year – centers on a young boy’s friendship with a “peculiar man with an elderly chicken”, according to an official synopsis. “Their quest for answers reveals hidden worlds and an unlikely but magical friendship.”
The film also stars Rachel McAdams, Colman Domingo, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Regina Hall and Jeff Goldblum, among others. Benny Safdie directs.
Johnson is no stranger to a physical transformation – although this may be the first time he’s been seen as an older man.
For last year’s “The Smashing Machine,” Johnson bulked up to play Mark Kerr in a biopic about the MMA fighter, gaining more than 30 pounds and donning a wig for the role.
“For me, the transformation was 22 prosthetics, over 30 pounds that I had to put on, which is a lot of weight,” he said during an interview on “Good Morning America” last October.
He also told Variety at the time that the transformation was “the hardest thing (he’s) ever done.”
“There was a physical transformation, prosthetics, a vocal transformation – he has a very specific way of speaking,” he told the outlet.
He also recalled Safdie, who also directed “The Smashing Machine,” saying, “DJ, I don’t know if anyone told you this…but you need to gain weight.”
Johnson said he told the director, “Give me 24 hours,” adding, “I came back and we looked at Mark again — and we realized his body is a unicorn,” Johnson said of Kerr.
“Benny said he wanted me to look a little bloated and I agreed,” Johnson said, noting that it took 30 pounds to achieve the effect.
Johnson clarified that it’s not enough to “gain weight” for such a transformation.
“It’s about developing muscle quality capable of rapid contractions,” explained the actor.
“He’s a wrestler. It’s not about bodybuilding,” he said. “I’ve never done so much trap and neck in my life. Old school no-neck wrestlers? That’s what I had to do. And I held that weight for three and a half months.”
Two weeks later, Johnson noted that he “had to go for it” in the live-action version of “Moana,” in which he played the demigod Maui — whom he also voiced in the 2016 animated film and its 2024 sequel.
“So it was Mark Kerr and Maui,” he muses. “Big guys.”
Johnson stunned fans with her slimmed-down physique after the roles – and revealed that ‘Lizard Music’ required a slimmer look.
“I’m so excited because I get the chance to transform myself again like I did in ‘Smashing Machine.’ I can’t wait,” he told People last year.
“It’s me, I lost weight,” he continued. “In the process of losing weight. Still have a long way to go.”
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