Dave Bautista (‘Guardians of the Galaxy’): ‘I’m grateful, but I don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy’

Dave Bautista is best known for his role as Drax in Marvel’s Adventures, but since taking the leap he has been a part of popular films outside of the superhero world, working with directors such as Sam Mendes on the James Bond film” Specter”. , with Rian Johnson in ‘Stabs in the Back: The Glass Onion Mystery’, or more recently with M. Night Shyamalan in ‘A Knock on the Door’, among others. With that, Bautista is making a name for himself in the industry beyond his appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he wants to keep it that way..

“I’m so thankful for Drax”the actor tells GQ. However, he doesn’t want the superhero to be the slogan of his name. “I don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy”he admits. “It’s a silly act and I want to do more dramatic things.”. The next film in the saga, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”, will be his farewell to the character. He admits that it is partly “relieved” that this phase of his career is about to end. “Not everything was pleasant. It was difficult to play that role. The make-up process crushed me”.

Before trying his luck as an actor, Bautista had made a name for himself in wrestling, following in the footsteps of Dwayne Johnson or John Cena. However, Bautista is clear: “I Never Wanted to Be the Next Rock”. In his head there is only one goal: “I want to be a fucking good actor. A respected actor”.

To do this, he trains constantly and takes great care of the path he wants to follow, even if this means leaving behind the character that opened the doors of Hollywood to him. Bautista is not yet where he would like to be. His dream is to be one of Denis Villeneuve’s favorite actors, with whom he already worked in “Dune” and whose appearance was extended to “Dune: Part 2”. “If I could be Denis’ number one [Villeneuve]I’d do it for fucking free”, he assures. For him, that would be the test to see “how good can i be”as it states that the director “It brings out the best in me. It sees me in a different light, like the actor I want to be”.

What was it like getting the role of Drax?

Bautista had already given up his in-ring career to focus on movies. Even wrestler and actor Stone Cold Steve gave him some advice he wouldn’t forget: even if he’s tempted by money, he shouldn’t accept any bad script that comes his way. For this Bautista has gone through difficult moments, being very selective with the projects that were proposed to him to avoid being typecast. Until Disney came along. He spent months and months auditioning for Drax. One day, as he was driving to the gym, they called him to tell him that his character was his. “I had to stop because I couldn’t stop crying”says QC. “I turned around at that moment and went to my house shaking to tell my wife that I was cast in the part”. And the rest is history.

* We will be able to see Bautista for the last time as Drax the Destroyer in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” at May 5 only in theaters.