Dwayne Johnson appeared almost unrecognizable while filming Benny Safdie’s new movie Lizard Music in Brooklyn, New York City, on Tuesday. The 54-year-old Moana actor was transformed into an elderly man for the outdoor scenes and walked with a noticeably hunched posture, as reported by The Daily Mail.

The dramatic appearance placed Johnson far from the famously muscular image he built during his wrestling career. The WWE alum, who rose to fame under the name The Rock, had also slimmed down for the role.

Johnson appeared in a complete senior citizen costume, with grey hair visible beneath a beige bucket hat. He also wore a tan trench coat over a blue shirt and tie while cameras rolled on the New York City set.

First look at The Rock in unrecognisable role as a 70 year old in ‘LIZARD MUSIC’

Directed by Benny Safdie. https://t.co/BImeGyhi7F — Cinema Solace (@SolaceCinema) October 20, 2026

The actor filmed alongside child performer Theo Clark Leber. Both carried large slices of pizza during the scene, while Leber was also pictured holding a lizard plush toy.

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Lizard Music is scheduled to be released next year. According to its synopsis, the story follows a young boy whose friendship with a peculiar man and an elderly chicken leads them on an unusual journey.

The synopsis adds: “Their quest for answers reveals hidden worlds and an unlikely but magical friendship.” The film is adapted from Daniel Pinkwater’s novel of the same name, which was originally published in 1976.

Johnson and Leber are joined in the cast by Rachel McAdams, Alicia Silverstone, Colman Domingo, Tim Heidecker, Regina Hall and Jeff Goldblum. Johnson was also photographed speaking with Safdie during filming.

Safdie recently played Agamemnon in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. His latest collaboration with Johnson marks another major physical reinvention for the actor after Johnson radically altered his body for The Smashing Machine.

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For that film, Johnson gained more than 30 pounds of muscle to portray MMA fighter Mark Kerr. He said on Good Morning America: “For me, the transformation was 22 prosthetics, over 30 pounds that I had to put on, which is a lot of weight.”

Johnson later discussed losing weight to play the Chicken Man character in Lizard Music. Speaking to Variety in September, he said:

“I still have a long ways to go,” before adding, “I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in Smashing Machine. [It means] eating less chicken.”

The actor described his work on The Smashing Machine as especially demanding. “This transformation was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There was a physical transformation, prosthetics, vocal transformation — he has a very specific way of talking.”

Johnson said portraying Kerr required more than simply adding weight. He explained: “It’s putting on a quality of muscle that has fast-twitch capacity.”

He also focused on building his neck and trapezius muscles to reflect Kerr’s wrestling background.

The Rock says he wanted an Oscar nomination for his role as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine.

“It would have been incredible to get nominated for an Oscar. I realized very quickly that it’s a rare thing to reach this pinnacle where you’re even having these conversations. And it’s exciting! It would have been amazing. I wish it happened. But it didn’t. But in no uncertain terms did I ever think, ‘Oh, that doesn’t matter.’ I always thought it mattered. And it has lit a fire in my spine, which is: Let’s go back to work.” (@esquire) — Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) June 11, 2026

“He’s a wrestler. It’s not about bodybuilding. I’ve never done so much trap and neck work in my life. Old-school wrestlers with no necks? That’s what I had to do.”

Johnson maintained the increased weight for three and a half months. Two weeks later, he moved into work on Moana, shifting from playing Kerr to playing Maui.

The actor, who was crowned Favorite Male Buttkicker at the 2013 Kids Choice Awards, has recently spoken about wanting to “be taken seriously” after feeling “pigeonholed” by his movie roles. His previous big-budget films include Jumanji, Moana and The Fast and the Furious.

At the Venice Film Festival last year, Johnson reflected on the pressure to pursue commercially successful projects. He said Hollywood’s focus on box office results could push performers into a particular category and convince them that one established lane was all the industry wanted from them.

Johnson said the change was less about proving himself to Hollywood than proving something to himself. Discussing his portrayal of Kerr, he added: “I’ve been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now, until I had this opportunity.”