DAVE BAUTISTA UNCOVERED
Pro-Wrestler Turned Leading Actor
Dave Bautista doesn’t need to look like Drax the Destroyer from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy to intimidate people. At six feet four inches, the ex-pro-wrestler-turned-lead-actor is just as wide as he is tall in the way only pro-wrestling would shape a person. But underneath all the sinister-looking muscle and towering physique is a genuinely kind, humble, often shy, and introverted man. One of the many co-stars who love him, Karen Gillan, describes him as a big teddy bear. You wouldn’t believe that just watching him.
As a child, he lived in poverty. Bautista never realized that he was athletic until he was 16 years old. When he moved in with his father in Washington D.C., some fellow Filipino students approached him to join the wrestling team. That’s when Bautista discovered his talent. He stuck by it until he turned pro. The young wrestler signed with WWE in 2000 and wrestled steadily until 2010. Batista (his wrestling name) returned in 2014, the same year he debuted as Drax in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. He had one final run wrestling in 2018.
Just like wrestling, Bautista fell into acting as well. It was never the plan. He had a couple of minor roles as the muscle man in action films until he landed Drax. But while it was a great accomplishment, it was also a lot of hard work. He was so nervous during his audition and terrified that acting felt so much smaller than in the ring. James Gunn knew he had it in him, even though Bautista fell out of his comfort zone.
Playing Drax turned out to be a blessing and a curse. Bautista had to stand in the makeup room for five hours straight so the artists could apply 18 prosthetics to make him have Drax’s raised red signature tattooed skin. Taking off the makeup each night took even longer as they had to scrub his body to remove everything. Thankfully the makeup artists were able to cut both processes in half. Bautista made his way to the set’s sauna to melt the makeup off him each night by the time Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came along.
Now rumors are circulating that he could be leaving his Marvel role for a new generation, but nothing has been confirmed. Bautista says his time in the franchise has come full circle, but that doesn’t mean he’s done acting. His time in Marvel has opened up so many doors for him, and now he says he has a chip on his shoulder to prove himself as an actor. Initially, he didn’t want to take Zack Snyder’s new Netflix film Army of the Dead because he wanted roles with more substance. When he found a deeper story to his character, he knew he wanted to play Scott.
So far, Bautista has starred in the MCU, a Bond film, Spectre, Blade Runner 2049, Army of the Dead, and will star in Dune, Knives Out 2, and possibly wrap up his time as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 all by 2023. We can’t wait to see what he does beyond all of that.
