Dave Bautista shares his acting experience and shares tips for acting tips.
Several wrestlers have made major attempts into acting. While Hulk Hogan had appeared in movies, it was not until Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson became an A-list superstar, pro wrestlers became major film stars. One of the biggest pro-wrestlers to become a star is Dave Bautista, who appeared in the Marvel hit movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” as Drax the Destroyer.
During the Denver Pop Culture Convention, Bautista recounted the audition for the role that “terrified” him and the advice he received during his auditions.
He recalled, “I was really desperate at the time, I had hardly worked in three years, and I had gone broke, I had lost all my money from wrestling and I was desperate to get a job. I finally got an agent, like, two weeks before I got the audition for Guardians. My agent says ‘You know, I really had to fight to get you this audition. It was really hard to get, they didn’t really want to audition you. They didn’t want to see any pro wrestlers, so I don’t want to get your hopes up.’”
He recalls coming to the audition extremely nervous, but receiving support to do his best. He says, “[My agent] built my hopes really low, so I went in with low expectations. I didn’t understand Drax. I called my acting coach and said ‘I don’t get this’ […] and he flipped out because he’s like the biggest fanboy. Anyway, he made me do a little research and I found one picture of Drax, and I said ‘That looks like me!’ He babied me through this whole process, my first and second auditions, my acting coach came with me, he was holding my hand like a little baby. I read for [casting director]Sarah Finn; she’s amazing. I read with her and she said ‘Don’t be nervous. Take your time, we can stay here all day.’”
Bautista’s acting performance was a game changer for his acting career and his since led to major lead roles in “Spectre,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Stuber,” and “Dune.”
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