Emily Blunt had some kind words to share about working with Dwayne Johnson. The actress recently starred alongside Johnson, also known as The Rock, in the 2025 sports drama film The Smashing Machine. The co-stars had nothing but admiration for each other when asked about their off-screen friendship.
Here are all the details.
Emily Blunt talks about Dwayne Johnson’s friendship
Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson recently joined the In Conversation with… panel at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, September 8.
During the interview, the co-stars spoke highly of each other and revealed that their friendship has grown stronger over the course of filming. The pair had previously shared the screen on the 2021 fantasy adventure movie, Jungle Cruise.
Blunt gushed about working with Johnson, saying, “We just became very fast friends, like an immediate secret language, which I think you feel with certain people that you work with.”
The actress went on to recall a memory with Johnson on set in Hawaii. “We just talked and shared our souls. And I was just really taken by, I guess, how different he was from what I had imagined,” she remembered. “He was so gentle and quite interior and sort of contemplative and kind, just easy. Like, so lovely to be around, funny and quick, all these qualities,” Blunt added.
Johnson chimed in to express his adoration for his screen partner. “I also want to give Emily her flowers too. She is one of the greatest actors of our time — of all time. And also one of my best friends,” he stated.
“In order to go to the place we were going to go, you have to have love, and then you have to have trust. And the love and the trust then allow for vulnerability. We could not have done that without this love and trust and vulnerability that we have,” Johnson continued.
He concluded on a sweet note, saying, “I want to thank you, because you are the greatest.”
Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine follows the life and career of former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr. The movie had its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.
It is slated for a theatrical release on October 3, 2025.
