Dwayne Johnson Details Wearing 'Hot as S---' 40-Lb. Prosthetic Bodysuit to Make Role in “Moana” Live-Action Believable

Michelle LeeTue, June 23, 2026 at 11:25 PM UTC

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Dwayne Johnson in the live-action adaptation of 'Moana'Credit: Courtesy of Disney -

Dwayne Johnson talked about what it took to transform into his famed character Maui in the live-action adaptation of Moana

The actor told E! News that he voluntarily wore a 40-lb. suit to fully embody his character

Johnson originally voiced Maui in the animated Disney movie, which was released in 2016

Dwayne Johnson's live-action reprisal of his beloved Moana character required some heavy-duty lifting.

The actor plays Maui, who he originally voiced in the 2016 Disney animation and the 2024 sequel, in the live-action film releasing on July 10, and he told E! News how his costume took a toll on his body.

In an interview published on June 23, the 54-year-old former wrestler said he didn't have time to fully transform his body for Smashing Machine, his 2025 film with Emily Blunt, in which he played UFC fighter Mark Kerr.

"...I went from Smashing Machine and I was 50 lbs. heavier than I am now," he explained to the outlet. Because he went straight from filming the sports drama to Moana with his costar Catherine Laga'aia, he had, he said, "no time to change my body."

(Left) Dwayne Johnson at the 2024 Oscars; (Right) Maui in 'Moana 2'Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty; Disney

"We were considering me just stepping on set how I looked in the Smashing Machine, but the body was just intensely different," Johnson, who produces the adaptation, continued. "We are the keepers of integrity, but also the fans are keepers of integrity, and if I stepped on set looking like how I looked, they would have had a complete organ rejection."

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So, he and the team worked with Oscar-winning makeup artist Joel Harlow on a bodysuit made entirely from prosthetics. "It also worked out great because of visual effects, because the tattoos are alive," Johnson said of Maui's body art. "So it was easier for [the visual effects team] and a better treat for audiences to see it on the suit."

Admiring the costume for its detailing was easy — actually wearing it, not so much. Johnson described wearing the piece as "40 pounds of suit that was hot as s--t!"

Dwayne Johnson on the set of 'Moana' in November 2024Credit: The Image Direct / BACKGRID

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Johnson's appearance sparked buzz when fans noticed his visibly slimmer physique at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival. The former WWE star and football player has been historically vocal about the hard work required to build — and maintain — his large, chiseled frame. Especially when a role has required him to go bigger.

"My goal was to bring in the best physique of my career," he told Men's Healthin a November 2022 interview for his film Black Adam. "When you have that suit on, every detail shows. Man, it was constant work, constant tweaking, tweaking, tweaking for months."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”