Dave Bautista spoke with GQ while promoting his new film Stuber, and “The Animal” talked about how he’s looking to have a well-rounded career, but wouldn’t mind landing a romantic lead. He says he wants the challenge of roles like that where he’s not just seen as a ‘wrestler’ and wants people to believe he can play any role presented to him.
“I know it sounds weird, but that’s where my passion is. If you ask me to put a label on my style of acting, I would tell you I’m a dramatic actor. I understand this the way I look physically is distracting for those types of roles. I think it’s going to take someone to look outside the box. That’s not the easiest thing to do, especially when, a lot of times they just won’t need to. They got me over here and I look like a gorilla and I could play this part. But they got this guy over here who was a talented actor, a big name. He can play the part, but he also looks the part. It’s an easy choice.
Look, at first, even I would have trouble seeing myself as, like, a romantic lead. But I want to play the part! I want the challenge. I’m a lovable guy, I can do it. There was a casting director named Sarah Finn, she cast most of the Marvel stuff. When I had gone in to audition for Drax she told me about Lee Pace, who plays Ronan. She was talking about Lee like he was the greatest thing ever. She was like, “Lee can do anything. Play any part, anything.” I want Sarah Finn to be saying that about me. I want my peers and casting directors and directors to say, Dave can do anything.”
Bautista said he wiped any WWE references from his social media when first breaking into acting. He added that he wasn’t embarrassed about his past, but he wanted people to respect his acting work and not just look at him as a former wrestler.
“Oh yeah, way over the top. That is the stigma I was stuck with when I wanted to become a real actor. There was a point in my career where none of my social media contained anything that said WWE. I just wanted to completely remove myself from that world. Not because I was embarrassed or ashamed to have come from that world, but I needed people to lose that stereotype with me being a professional wrestler. Open their eyes, broaden their minds a little bit of who I could be.
Then when I felt like I had finally established that respect, that credit, I started owning it. I had more than a few people when I went back for WrestleMania this year, more than a few of my peers in acting, who were surprised that I was ever a professional wrestler. They had no idea. To me, that’s an accomplishment. That’s a statement.”
