JUNE 2017 MUSCLE & FITNESS 51TRADITIONALLY, THERE
might not have been much space
in Hollywood for 40-something
thespians built like oak trees,
but Bautista is making room, one
successful role at a time. In 2014 he
starred inGuardians of the Galaxy,
a funny, irreverent, thrilling film
that takes place in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe (MCU) about a
group of intergalactic criminals who
must save the universe. It was a rare
comic-book movie that made you
laugh, cheer and possibly even
tear up a little.
Bautista played Drax, a guy who
takes everything he hears literally,
and who also witnessed the brutal
murder of his wife and daughter.In seeking revenge for their deaths,
he delivered some of the movie’s
funniest lines – but he also showed
he was capable of being vulnerable
and generating empathy. The movie
was a surprise box-office smash,
raking in $773 million worldwide,
the third-highest grossing film of
the year. And Bautista’s Drax was
a major reason why. It was his
chance to show he could be more
than, as he puts it, “Tough Guy No. 1”- and he crushed it.
“Guardiansmade my career, and
it changed my life,” says Bautista.
“It opened so many doors for me
in Hollywood, it’s ridiculous.”
One of those doors led to him
starring as Hinx, a villain in the
2015 James Bond movie,Spectre.
Overall, Bautista had an incredible
experience. (“I still get the giggles
that I’m actually in a Bond film,”
he says.) But there was one aspect
that frustrated him. When – spoiler
alert – he is launched off a train
at the end of a long fight scene
with Daniel Craig, his character,
who had been silent the entire
film, delivers one line: “Shit.” The
line was actually taken from a
dubbing session that Bautista did
after the original shoot – in which
he had sounded, according to the
filmmakers, “too American.”
Bautista was less than thrilled
with the scene’s finished product,
especially considering a line that
Daniel Craig says after Hinx’s
demise – “God, I thought that
guy would never shut up” – was
removed. “I wasn’t crazy about the
voice-over, and I was really upset
that they cut out the punch line to
that whole thing,” says Bautista.
“I wish they would’ve just left
me silent. The character was like
an homage to a throwback James
Bond henchman.”
On the bright side, Bautista has
far more lines in the upcoming
Blade Runnerreboot,Blade Runner
2049.It was a role Bautista had to
fight hard for, because the director,
Denis Villeneuve, initially thought
he was wrong for the part. While
in Atlanta forGuardians Vol. 2,
Bautista screen-tested for the
project and convinced VilleneuveTHE BALLAD OF
BAUTISTA, PART III:HOLLYWOOD
©MARVEL STUDIOS 2017
GALACTIC FORCE Bautista reprises
his role as Drax in Guardians Vol. 2,
alongside Baby Groot (right).DAVE BAUTISTA