‘I FOUGHT HARD NOT TO GET TYPECAST’

Dave Bautista is determined to show his range as an actor, doesn’t want to be looked at as just a musclehead

merican professional wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista (right) thinks he is a “misfit in life”, but doesn’t want to be a misfit in Hollywood. He says he’s fighting hard not to get typecast as a musclehead, and show his range as an artist.

Bautista, who believes that being part of film franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy, has opened many doors for him, says: “You’ll see me in a whole different light in the next few years. They are actual actor roles (that he is working on)... That is some of the stuff that I fought really hard for.” He plays the role of Drax, known for his muscular physique, but says that his character also has an emotional side.

Elaborating on his future work assignments, Bautista adds: “I have worked a lot in the last few years actually. It has not been released yet and this year also I will continue (with the work). I’m proud of the role I play in Blade Runner 2049 (sequel of Blade Runner). I’m proud of being a part of the project with such brilliant actors. I’ll also be doing Hotel Artemis (near-future thriller) starring Jodie Foster.

Back to discussing Guardians... that also stars Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, and Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as voice talent, Bautista says that he has a memory of director James Gunn saying that he chose all of them for specific reasons.

“I think it was because in our own way, we’re all misfits and (Gunn knew) we’d meet the need of the characters,” says the 48-year-old. Before pursuing his acting dream, Bautista made a name for himself in the world of bodybuilding and wrestling. He has won WWE World Heavyweight Championship four times and WWE Championship twice. He walked into Hollywood with small role in 2006 film Relative Strangers, and went on to do TV series Smallville and Chuck. Bautista also joined the James Bond film franchise as a villain in 2010 with Spectre.

PHOTO: DANNY MOLOSHOK /REUTERS You’ll see me in a whole different light in the next few years. They are actual actor roles