Dwayne Johnson confesses his 'The Smashing Machine' dream was crushed and it still hurts

Dwayne Johnson stunned viewers with his rare serious turn in The Smashing Machine.

Hit filmmakers Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese raved about the actor's performance.

In addition, Johnson's performance drew buzz for a nod at the Oscars. 

However, he did not get one.

But The Rock, in an interview with Esquire, admitted the snub stung.

“It would have been incredible to get nominated for an Oscar,” he shared.

“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,” he continued.

Johnson, however, added that recognition from the Academy mattered to him.

“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,’” the actor noted.

Johnson is commonly associated with the blockbuster hero persona. But in The Smashing Machine, he took a complete opposite turn.

As an MMA fighter, Mark Kerr, who played him on-screen, he battled with addiction and self-destruction.

Though Johnson's performance was universally praised, the film struggled at the box office.