In the biopic ‘The Smashing Machine’, directed by Benny Safdie, Oleksandr Usyk plays the Ukrainian MMA fighter Ihor Vovchanchyn. Discussing his work with Usyk on X, Safdie called him one of the greatest boxers in history
The director jokingly added that he was afraid to teach the boxer how to punch on camera:
‘Usyk will go down in history as one of the greatest boxers to ever do it… so imagine my fear when I had to go in and show him how to do ground and pound specifically for the camera… I was like, ‘How the hell was I supposed to tell the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world this?!?!’ He’s the most humble and incredible guy, and he gives a great performance. He wanted to do right by Ihor Vovchanchyn! Oleksandr, you’re amazing!!’
Usyk will go down in history as one of the greatest boxers to ever do it… so imagine the fear I had having to go in and show him how to do the ground and pound specifically for camera… I was like “how the hell do I tell the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world… pic.twitter.com/4IVUuFUEDf
— Benny safdie (@benny_safdie) October 9, 2025
Actress Emily Blunt also spoke about working with Usyk on the film set in one of her interviews. According to her, the boxer loved eating cake during filming, and sometimes they even used it to ‘bribe’ him:
‘He wanted to eat cake all the time. Sometimes we’d bribe him with cake. Oleksandr didn’t understand why they had to get fake sweat on him, so our assistant would say, ‘If I get you some cake, will you do it?’ and he’d say, ‘Yes’’.
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About ‘The Smashing Machine’
The film tells the story of two-time UFC champion Mark Kerr and portrays ‘the rise of his career, its peak in 1999–2000, and his fall against the backdrop of opioid addiction’.
Dwayne Johnson stars as Kerr. Alongside him and Usyk, The Smashing Machine features Emily Blunt (‘Oppenheimer’), Lyndsey Gavin (‘Always Amore’), and American fighters Ryan Bader and Bas Rutten.
‘The Smashing Machine’ was released in Ukrainian cinemas on October 9.
