Dwayne Johnson recently explained how playing UFC legend Mark Kerr in 'The Smashing Machine' was a ground-breaking role for him and how it helped him challenge Hollywood's typecasting.Apart from Johnson, the film also has Emily Blunt playing the MMA icon's partner, Dawn Staples, and Bas Rutten playing his trainer. Former Bellator heavyweight Ryan Bader was roped in to play Kerr's best friend and fellow UFC legend, Mark Coleman.At the North American premiere Q&A at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Toronto, Johnson opened up about his experience playing Kerr in his biopic and said:"I felt, for a few years now, that I was pigeonholed because I allowed it to happen... I started having this thought a couple of years ago. I started to think, 'Am I living my dreams or am I living other people's dreams?' and it comes full circle to meeting with Ben [Safdie] and our relationship and our friendship and bond and us coming together."He continued:"No, this is for me. 'The Smashing Machine' is for me. I want to do this for me... When you decide you're gonna do something for you, this funny thing happens where the world and the universe meet you halfway."Dwayne Johnson opens up about playing Mark Kerr in 'The Smashing Machine'Earlier this month, Dwayne Johnson addressed playing Mark Kerr in 'The Smashing Machine' and went deep on how the role was significantly different from what he's usually known for.Johnson is among the highest-grossing action stars in the world and is widely considered one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time. Given his incredible resume in the sphere of high-octane action movies, playing a Kerr in an emotionally-charged role was a very different experience for Johnson.In an interview, the WWE legend opened up about how 'The Smashing Machine' was a unique experience for him and said:"I've been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now, until I had this opportunity to do this. When you're in Hollywood, as we all know, it had become about box office, and you chase the box office... It can push you into a corner and category, 'This is your lane, this is what you do, and this is what people want you to be, and this is what Hollywood wants you to be.' And I understood that, and I made those movies and I liked them and they were fun, and some were really good and did well, and some not so good."He continued:"Sometimes it's hard to know what you're capable of when you've been pigeon-holed into something." [H/t: BBC]