Dwayne Johnson Becomes 70‑Year‑Old “Chicken Man” for Safdie’s “Lizard Music”

Johnson has been turned into a 70‑year‑old called the Chicken Man for the Benny Safdie‑directed film Lizard Music, according to set photos released on Tuesday. The pictures show the actor in Brooklyn wearing a tan bucket hat and coat while holding a slice of pizza, walking beside teenage co‑star Theo Clark Leber who carries a giant lizard plush. The transformation was created by prosthetic artist Kazu Hiro, the same designer who aged Tom Cruise for Digger. Johnson previously worked with Safdie on the 2025 movie The Smashing Machine, where he also underwent extensive prosthetic work. Lizard Music adapts Daniel Pinkwater’s children’s book of the same name and follows a boy who discovers odd lizard musicians on late‑night television and befriends a strange man with an elderly chicken. The cast also includes Rachel McAdams, Colman Domingo, David Krumholtz, Jeff Goldblum, Alicia Silverstone and Regina Hall. Amazon MGM Studios will release the film on Christmas Day 2027. During a career‑retrospective talk at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival, Johnson said Safdie convinced him to join after about 45 minutes of discussion and that he shed 30 pounds of muscle for the role. He added that the new look excites him and that it “means eating less chicken.”

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Prosthetic makeup allows actors to portray characters far different from their own age or shape, a technique Safdie has used before. Johnson’s willingness to lose muscle mass shows his commitment to physically demanding roles.