Dwayne Johnson unrecognizable as elderly Chicken Man on Lizard Music set in Brooklyn

Set photos from Brooklyn

Photographs taken on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 show Dwayne Johnson on the set of Lizard Music in Brooklyn, New York, with grey hair, a grey beard and a heavily aged face. Wearing a beige hat and a matching coat, the 54-year-old walked the street beside his young co-star Theo Clark Leber, who carried an oversized plush lizard. In one picture the actor holds a slice of pizza. Several passers-by probably did not recognize the Hollywood star at all, according to 20 Minuten. The character is Chicken Man, a mysterious man of about 70 who has an unusual bond with an elderly hen.

How the look was built

Makeup artist Kazu Hiro, a specialist in makeup and film prosthetics, created the aged face, and he recently also turned Tom Cruise into an elderly oil baron for the film Digger. Johnson's look combines prosthetics and makeup with loose clothing that hides his muscular build and makes him appear much older. This is the second time Johnson has changed his appearance under Benny Safdie's direction, after The Smashing Machine from 2025, in which he wore prosthetics to resemble the real MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Libertatea notes that the transformation is one of the most radical of his film career, since his roles have usually relied on physical strength. Blick points out that the part departs from his action work in Jumanji, Black Adam and the Fast & Furious franchise.

Weight loss for the role

Johnson also gave up a large part of his muscle mass for the part. Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025, where he discussed his career, he said he had lost about 13.6 kilograms, which Variety reported as roughly 30 pounds of muscle. He told the festival that director Benny Safdie had convinced him to take the role in about 45 minutes. Earlier, for the live-action Moana (2026), he had worn a muscle suit and a long black wig to play the demigod Maui.

Film details and cast

Lizard Music is based on Daniel Pinkwater's 1976 children's book. According to the official synopsis, a boy finds strange lizard musicians on late-night television, which leads him to an eccentric man with an old hen, and the two become friends. Amazon MGM Studios is producing the film, which is scheduled for release in December 2027. Alongside Johnson, the cast includes Rachel McAdams, Colman Domingo, David Krumholtz, Jeff Goldblum, Alicia Silverstone and Regina Hall. Johnson said, according to Blick, that taking a new direction in front of the camera was long overdue.