Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's make-up artist on The Smashing Machine has revealed his secrets of transforming the wrestler for his role in the drama.

The former wrestler, 53, underwent a striking transformation for his latest role, with Oscar-winning prosthetic makeup artist Kazu Hiro reshaping his nose, concealing tattoos and altering his appearance for the upcoming film.

The A24 drama, directed by Benny Safdie in his first solo project, sees Dwayne play real-life mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr, while Emily Blunt portrays his wife Dawn Staples.

Kazu Hiro, 55, who will receive the TIFF Variety Artisan Award, said subtlety was key to ensuring the performance came through the prosthetics.

He told Variety: "There will be a lot of physical activity sweating and fighting, like a punch in the face. It's very important and very easy to make someone unrecognized, but the very important part is to really reflect the meaning of the makeup and the purpose of the makeup, and also the subject we are trying to portray."

Kazu, who has previously transformed Bradley Cooper into Leonard Bernstein and Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill, worked closely with the director to keep Dwayne's expressions visible beneath the prosthetics.

He added: "Mark Kerr has a prominent eyebrow bone, and so I also have to put the eyebrows on it and change the shape of the nose.

"His hairline and the shape of the head also bring the design of a likeness to it."

The process took two hours each day.

Kazu explained: "We made a quick cap, and because once we put the cap on, it broke the color, so VFX had to put what's behind it after."

Tattoos were covered daily, while swollen pieces were added to Dwayne's eyes, cheeks and nose to reflect the damage from fight sequences.

But the physicality of the role created challenges.

Kazu said: "His nose would start to peel off, and that's something that can't be avoided because people sweat.

"Especially when he's fighting or working out. Whatever glue we used, sweat would push out and start to slide off. It was constant maintenance."

The Smashing Machine cast also includes Bas Rutten, Lyndsey Gavin and Oleksandr Usyk.

It is set amid the brutal and physically punishing world of MMA fighting, where Kerr rose to fame in the late 1990s.

Kazu collaborated with Dwayne's personal makeup artist, German Bjoern, who was responsible for applying products to the body that endured the demands of filming.