Nerdly » The Filmmaker’s Podcast #473: Benny Safdie on ‘The Smashing Machine’

13th Oct2025

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #473: Benny Safdie on ‘The Smashing Machine’

by Phil Wheat

Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dom Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #473: BENNY SAFDIE (Uncut Gems): Directing Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in THE SMASHING MACHINE plus filmmaking tips

Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, The Curse) joins this weeks The Filmmakers Podcast to discuss the challenging process of directing his solo feature debut, the gritty sports biopic The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson as MMA legend Mark Kerr. Fellow filmmakers Giles Alderson and Dom Lenoir sit with Benny and dive into the Safdie style, his approach to directing actors and making raw, kinetic cinema. As one half of the acclaimed Safdie Brothers duo, Benny co-directed, co-wrote, and edited films that make your heart pound out of your chest. We’re talking about the incredible, neon-drenched chase thriller “Good Time,” and the anxiety-inducing, chaotic masterpiece “Uncut Gems,” starring Adam Sandler. These films established a gritty, naturalistic style, full of propulsive energy, often focusing on outsiders desperately struggling in the urban landscape of New York. But he’s not just a master behind the camera! As an actor, he has completely transformed and disappeared into roles, giving incredible performances like the troubled Nick Nikas in “Good Time,” the compassionate Joel Wachs in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza,” and the brilliant physicist Edward Teller in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, “Oppenheimer.” He’s even popped up in TV like “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and co-created, wrote, directed, and starred in the critically praised Showtime series, “The Curse.” And now, he’s stepped out as a solo director, writer, and editor with the highly anticipated film, “The Smashing Machine.” This intense biographical sports drama, which premiered to acclaim at the Venice Film Festival, stars a completely transformed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as pioneering MMA fighter Mark Kerr, alongside the brilliant Emily Blunt and other great actors. It’s a grittier, unflinching look at a champion struggling with addiction and the pressures of the sport. He’s a true filmmaking polymath who brings a raw, authentic urgency to everything he touches. It’s the brilliant Benny Safdie!