Dwayne Johnson looks decades older in new photographs from Lizard Music, which show him playing an eccentric character known as the Chicken Man.
The 54-year-old was photographed filming at Coney Island in Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 20, alongside young costar Theo Clark Leber. PEOPLE published the pictures that afternoon.
The fantasy adventure reunites Johnson with director Benny Safdie after their 2025 film The Smashing Machine, in which he portrayed mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr.
Filming in New York also marked a career first for Johnson. In an Instagram post, he said he had never previously shot a movie in the city in which he starred, describing the production as “our love letter to NYC.”
Gray Hair, Age Spots and a Pizza Slice Complete the Look
Page Six shares Dwayne Johnson’s Lizard Music set photos, October 20, 2026
Wispy gray hair emerged from beneath Johnson’s tan bucket hat, while a mustache, stubble and age spots helped create his character’s weathered face. He wore earrings, a blue shirt and tie, loose gray trousers and a long beige coat.
Leber walked beside him carrying an oversized green stuffed lizard. Both actors held slices of pizza in photographs from the outdoor shoot.
Johnson Spends Five Hours in Makeup to Become the Chicken Man
Dwayne Johnson discusses Lizard Music with Deadline at D23, August 16, 2026
In an August 16 interview with Deadline at Disney’s D23 event, Johnson explained that becoming the character required approximately five hours in the makeup chair every day.
Prosthetics artist Kazu Hiro, who also worked on The Smashing Machine, is behind the transformation. Johnson praised Hiro’s work and said the production was already two weeks into filming.
The actor joked that he had needed to look up the word “septuagenarian” to understand the description of his role. It means someone in their 70s. Asked about the movie, he offered a comparison: “Imagine Willy Wonka but from the mind of Benny Safdie.”
Johnson described the work as challenging but said he was having an extraordinary experience, crediting the friendship and creative partnership he had developed with his director.
Safdie’s 45-Minute Pitch Won Johnson Over
Johnson discussed the project during the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025. Safdie had pitched the adaptation after they finished their previous movie.
After about 45 minutes, Johnson recalled, he told the filmmaker, “I am your Chicken Man,” according to Variety‘s coverage of the conversation. Having bulked up to portray Kerr, Johnson said he was slimming down again and still had further to go.
“I felt for a few years, I was pigeonholed because I allowed it to happen,” he said. He remained fond of his blockbuster work and expected to return to it, but wanted room for other kinds of performances.
His first Safdie collaboration subsequently earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a drama. Safdie also won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.
A Late-Night Broadcast Leads to an Unusual Friendship
Safdie adapted Lizard Music from Daniel Pinkwater’s 1976 children’s novel. The live-action and CGI film follows a boy who discovers lizards performing music on a mysterious late-night television broadcast.
His search for an explanation brings him to the Chicken Man and Claudia, his 85-year-old chicken companion. The boy and the older man become friends as they investigate a hidden society and encounter worlds beyond their everyday surroundings.
The ensemble includes Alicia Silverstone, Regina Hall, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi and Andrew Dice Clay. Rachel McAdams, Jeff Goldblum, Colman Domingo and David Krumholtz contribute voice performances.
Johnson is producing through Seven Bucks Productions alongside Safdie, Scott Stuber, Nick Nesbitt and David Koplan. Amazon MGM Studios has scheduled the United Artists film for U.S. theaters on December 25, 2027, according to the October 19 release announcement.