Dwayne Johnson continues his attempts to move away from the image of the traditional action hero. The 54-year-old actor was photographed in Brooklyn looking almost unrecognizable as 70-year-old Chicken Man during the filming of Lizard Music, the new film by director Benny Safdie.
Images from October 20 show Johnson with an aged face, gray hair and beard, a bucket hat, and a coat. In one scene, the actor is holding a slice of pizza while his young on-screen co-star Theo Clark Leber walks beside him with a large stuffed lizard. The photos were taken in Coney Island, New York.
🔥🚨DEVELOPING: Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson is ‘desperate’ to be viewed as a serious actor according to many fans as he can be seen dawning a new look in New York City alongside child actor Theo Liber on the set of his upcoming film "Lizard Music." https://t.co/pY3NzWSyWE
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) October 20, 2026
Behind the Hollywood star’s transformation is two-time Oscar winner Kazu Hiro, known for his work on Darkest Hour and Bombshell. For Lizard Music, The Rock underwent a lengthy prosthetics and special makeup process that transformed him into the eccentric elderly Chicken Man.
The physical transformation was not limited to makeup. The actor deliberately reduced his trademark muscle mass for the role, reportedly losing around 14 kilograms. At the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025, he joked that the new look meant eating “less chicken.”
Lizard Music is an adaptation of the 1976 children’s novel by American author Daniel Pinkwater. The story follows a boy named Victor, played by Theo Clark Leber, who accidentally comes across a mysterious late-night television show featuring lizards performing unusual music. His search for an explanation brings him together with Chicken Man and his grown-up chicken Claudia, and the two set off on a fantastical adventure.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson looks completely unrecognizable on set of "Lizard Music” in NYC 👀 📸: BACKGRID, GC Images https://t.co/pWTwGTWivS
— Page Six (@PageSix) October 20, 2026
The cast also includes Alicia Silverstone, Regina Hall, Tim Heidecker, and Andrew Dice Clay. Colman Domingo, Rachel McAdams, Jeff Goldblum, and David Krumholtz have voice roles. The film combines live action and computer animation, and Amazon MGM Studios has scheduled its U.S. premiere for December 25, 2027.
The project is Dwayne Johnson and Benny Safdie’s second consecutive collaboration, following the biographical sports drama The Smashing Machine. In it, the actor transformed into mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr, with the role marking a clear turn toward more dramatic and physically transformative characters.
The idea for their new collaboration emerged quickly. The Rock said that after a roughly 45-minute conversation with Safdie, he was already convinced to play Chicken Man. The actor described the project as a new opportunity to undergo a radical transformation in front of the camera.