It’s hard to imagine Dwayne Johnson , aka The Rock, looking old and frail. But cinema can make even the wildest transformations come true. The actor has left fans stunned with his unrecognisable look as an elderly man in his upcoming fantasy adventure film, Lizard Music. Recently, photos of Dwayne from the film’s shoot in New York surfaced online.
The two last collaborated on the sports drama The Smashing Machine (2025). The film is an adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 children’s novel of the same name. Johnson plays a 70-year-old man known as Chicken Man.
The actor was seen wearing a beige jacket, a bucket hat, a blue shirt and a printed tie in the photos. Sporting a grey wig, white facial hair and prosthetics to make him look older, the former WWE star looked unrecognisable, a far cry from his usual beefed-up self. He was also photographed walking with his young co-star, Theo Leber. Dwayne has reunited with director Benny Safdie for the upcoming fantasy adventure film. This leads him to meet a peculiar elderly man accompanied by a chicken. Hiro also worked on Charlize Theron’s transformation into journalist Megyn Kelly in Bombshell. Hiro recently worked on Digger, creating Tom Cruise’s transformation into Digger Rockwell, an ageing billionaire oil tycoon. Lizard Music also stars Rachel McAdams, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Alicia Silverstone and Regina Hall. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on Christmas Day next year.
The story follows a young boy who discovers unusual lizard musicians during a late-night television broadcast, according to the official synopsis. Johnson’s ageing look was designed by Kazu Hiro, the Oscar-winning makeup artist known for transforming Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, according to a report by Variety. He said, “Benny pitched me this after we wrapped The Smashing Machine, and after about 45 minutes, his pitch ended, and I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’”
Interestingly, he has previously collaborated with Johnson on The Smashing Machine, designing the prosthetics that helped the actor portray boxer Mark Kerr. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Dwayne previously shared how he came on board the project.
