When Benny Safdie began casting smashing machinethe indie director confronted an attention-grabbing drawback: Who would play Bas Rutten? In any case, it is one factor to ask an actor to play a well-known fighter. Dwayne Johnson did simply that with Mark Carr. However that is fairly one other factor than simply requiring fighters to basically play themselves, and Rutten himself felt it was far more sophisticated than it appeared on the floor.
Bas Rutten discovered appearing classes the exhausting approach – being your self in entrance of the digital camera is not simple
The UFC Corridor of Famer stepped into his youthful self on set, becoming a member of Johnson and Emily Blunt within the movie, which is predicated on the 2002 HBO documentary about Kerr’s tumultuous rise and fall within the combined martial arts world within the late ’90s. Rutten initially appeared within the documentary, teaching Kerr at a pivotal second within the fighter’s profession. Now, 25 years later, he is requested to recreate these scenes, however there’s an issue.
In an unique interview with Tim Wheaton, he defined:
“They at all times say, ‘Oh, you are simply taking part in your self.’ It is more durable to play your self than you suppose. He is a colourful man, and fortunately that is mirrored in my actions, and I can not do these items, however nonetheless…I at all times evaluate myself to folks. In case you’re a bizarre man and also you’re strolling down the seaside and there is a group of six lovely women standing there, all of them cease speaking, take a look at you, and begin strolling in a different way. You begin appearing in a different way since you’re self-conscious. That was the one factor I used to be afraid of.”
This analogy cuts to the center of common human expertise, and self-awareness tends to undermine authenticity. When you realize you are being watched, when cameras are rolling and employees are readily available, even probably the most pure particular person can discover themselves second-guessing themselves. I feared that El Guapo Rutten, a flamboyant character identified for his irreverent humor and outsized presence within the combined martial arts world, would fall into that entice and change into virtually a caricature of himself, moderately than a seize of his true essence on the time.
However Safdie’s strategy was very totally different from what Rutten had anticipated. The director gave the subject material room, moderately than a confining script. He continued:
“In fact, each scene I did was scripted, however Benny Safdie stated, ‘Hey, it is you. Simply observe the rules and make it your individual. Do what you need to do.’ , all these scenes that you simply noticed, there have been some scenes that merely weren’t used. In case you educate him critically and he actually pays consideration, which I have been instructing him all this time, it is change into loads simpler.”
Safdie understood what was necessary. Making an attempt to chase away lightning by having actors recite each line precisely may work in a standard screenplay, however in Rutten’s case, authenticity required freedom. The script turned a scaffold, not a Bible.
On set, Rutten talked about an expertise the place his teaching job principally continued whereas the cameras have been rolling. “For me, it was actually like instructing DJing. I acquired goosebumps each time I did the set,” he recalled. Johnson’s enthusiasm for the function freed Rutten from the necessity for a proper efficiency. He was genuinely guiding Johnson by the world of automobiles in the identical approach he had coached actual automobiles a long time earlier.
Johnson’s dedication to this function went past only a efficiency. The actor had studied Carr’s manners so totally that Rutten’s spouse instantly acknowledged their authenticity. “My spouse stated, ‘Oh my God, he is so good. He is so good,'” Rutten stated. Johnson included the bodily traits, speech, and facial expressions of the true Carr.
The tip end result speaks for itself. smashing machine It premiered on the Venice Worldwide Movie Competition in September 2025 and gained the Silver Lion for Greatest Director. Though critics praised Johnson’s spare efficiency, Rutten’s authenticity and really presence as a person who truly lived by the occasions added a documentary-like realism that enhanced the movie general. Relatively than watching an actor play a coach, the viewers watched an precise coach mirror on a transformative second in each their lives.
The movie additionally options actual martial artists reminiscent of Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman, Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchantin, and Kei Ishii as Enson Inouye. Nevertheless, Bas Rutten ended up competing towards Bas Rutten, Mark Carr’s actual coach.
Bas Rutten has coached many martial artists, together with Kimbo Slice and Mark Carr. He not too long ago put collectively a exercise program that permits anybody to coach with the UFC Corridor of Fame athlete. www.thefightingmachine.com options monitoring apps, video, audio, and extra.
