Dwayne Johnson showed off a striking new look while filming Lizard Music in Brooklyn, New York City. Set photos showed the 54-year-old actor transformed into an elderly man for Benny Safdie’s upcoming film.
The role required another major physical change for Johnson, who previously spoke about slimming down after gaining considerable weight for The Smashing Machine.
New York set photos and videos reveal Dwayne Johnson’s elderly ‘Lizard Music’ character
The Dwayne Johnson Lizard Music transformation featured gray hair, a beige bucket hat and an intentionally hunched posture. Johnson also wore a tan trench coat over a blue shirt and tie while filming outdoor scenes.
His slimmer appearance further separated the character from the muscular image that has defined much of Johnson’s wrestling and acting career.
As per Daily Mail, Johnson filmed the scenes alongside child actor Theo Clark Leber. The pair carried large slices of pizza, while Leber also held a lizard plush toy.
Lizard Music follows a young boy who forms an unusual friendship with a man who has an elderly chicken. Their search for answers eventually leads them into hidden worlds and an unexpected magical friendship.
The project adapts Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 novel of the same name. Rachel McAdams, Alicia Silverstone, Colman Domingo, Tim Heidecker, Regina Hall and Jeff Goldblum also joined the cast. The film is expected to arrive next year.
Johnson previously teased the physical work required to play the character. Speaking about slimming down for Lizard Music, he said, “I still have a long ways to go.”
“I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in Smashing Machine,” he added before joking that the process meant “eating less chicken.”
The Dwayne Johnson elderly character photos marked a major contrast with his previous transformation for The Smashing Machine. Johnson said he gained more than 30 pounds to play MMA fighter Mark Kerr and used 22 prosthetics.
“This transformation was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he said of playing Kerr, explaining that the role also required him to change his voice and build a different type of muscular physique.
Johnson has also spoken about wanting to explore roles beyond the big-budget films that have defined much of his Hollywood career. He said he wanted to pursue projects that allowed him to go “deep and intense and raw.”
