Benny Safdie on making his first film without Josh Safdie

Benny Safdie, who made his directorial debut with his brother Josh and helmed several films together, has now directed his first solo movie, The Smashing Machine.

Safdie and Josh previously teamed up on 2019’s Uncut Gems and 2017’s Good Time.

On Monday, September 29, the director told The Hollywood Reporter at the Los Angeles premiere that “it wasn’t really an adjustment” to take the helm on his own.

“I had been acting a lot on my own for a while, and there’s a level of independence that you have there,” he added of working without Josh. “And then I made a TV show with my friend Nathan, The Curse, so it’s been a process of, ‘What do I want to explore?’”

That journey has taken both Benny and Josh Safdie into the world of sports, with Josh set to release his first solo project, Marty Supreme, later this year.

Benny’s latest film, The Smashing Machine, stars Dwayne Johnson as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, exploring the highs and lows of his personal and professional life.

Alongside Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr’s wife Dawn, Johnson steps into his first major dramatic role — a performance Benny said he always believed the star could deliver after “looking into his eyes and just knowing.”

“He’s such a larger-than-life guy that you don’t know what to expect, and then when I met him I was just like, ‘Wow, this guy’s unbelievable, he really is the real deal,’” the director reflected on The Rock.

Safdie continued, “And I just thought, wow, he really can embody this in a way that would be really special, and I think we can get a really layered, complicated performance with this.”

RELATED: Dwayne Johnson on losing weight for next movie with Benny Safdie