As Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson plays Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, the real life mixed martial arts legend and UFC champion has signed with Innovative Artists for representation.
The A24 biopic, which screened at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, is set for a theatrical release from Oct. 3. Innovative Artists will represent Kerr for acting opportunities, endorsements, licensing, speaking appearances and merchandising.
That’s after The Smashing Machine recalled Kerr’s rise as a UFC Hall of Famer and as an NCAA wrestling legend. During his career, Kerr won two UFC heavyweight tournaments and was an ADCC submission grappling champion.
His UFC career became the subject of the 2002 HBO documentary, The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, that detailed Kerr’s journey and struggles with addiction to pain killers.
Safdie wrote and directed the indie biopic, which had Johnson (who usually stars in big budget tentpoles) sporting prosthetics on his face to help him resemble Kerr, as well as speaking with an Ohio-area accent rather than his trademark booming voice. The Smashing Machine also stars Emily Blunt as Kerr’s wife.
Kerr linking up with Innovative Artists comes as that talent agency expands into sports.
In March, private equity firm Coral Tree Partners acquired a minority stake in the agency, which has since launched a sports division led by Brad Small. He brought clients including Jack Perry, Big Bill, and Anna Jay, and signed elite athletes like Olympic legend Greg Louganis and MMA star Ryan Bader.