Q&A Hollywood
Q: I’ve seen the guy who plays Drax in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies in a lot of things lately. Where did he come from?
A: I’m assuming you mean what’s his career background, rather than where was he born. (If I’m wrong, the answer to your question is Washington, D.C., and you can stop reading now.) It’s natural to wonder about his background. Usually when notably musclebound actors show up in big roles out of nowhere, there’s a sports career behind them somewhere, and so it is with Dave Bautista, though his was a particularly theatrical sports career. Prior to being Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bautista was a pro wrestler who fought under the clever nickname Batista. He became a superstar in that most film-friendly of sports before shifting over to films. He moonlighted for a while, but aside from the occasional cameo at a major wrestling event, Bautista is now a full-time actor. As you said, he’s been in a lot lately. Apart from his four Marvel movies, he’s also appeared in the 2015 Bond film “Spectre” and has branched out even further in the past two years with leading roles in two comedy films, “Stuber” (2019) and “My Spy” (2020).
Q: Is the dog on “Star Trek: Picard” actually Patrick Stewart’s dog? I’ve seen pictures on the internet of him with a similarlooking one.
A: No, the faithful canine sidekick in “Star Trek: Picard” isn’t actually titular star Patrick Stewart’s pet, but it’s safe to say he’s a stand-in. The choice of a pit bull was very much informed by his personal life. It’s clear that the role of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (later an admiral) is a little more personal to Stewart than most of his parts, especially these days. That’s partly because he’s an executive producer on “Star Trek: Picard” (a continuation of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” for those who avoid all things Trekkie), and so has a lot of say in the story and especially in his character’s development. He said in an interview with CinemaBlend that the addition of a dog as a sidekick was a shorthand way to show Picard’s emotional state — “Picard” tries to depict a more troubled JeanLuc than fans are used to. “To just see him with a dog seemed to me to write a lot of things that didn’t have to be said, because the presence of the dog alone means that he’s looking for some form of comfort, which he cannot find anywhere else, but he finds it in the dog.” The question, then, was what kind of dog? Except it was never a question for Stewart. He’s a big lover of pit bulls and is campaigning to rehabilitate the breed’s negative reputation, especially in his native England, where the dogs are banned. Because of England’s laws, he can’t own one, but he’s fostered a few when he’s in Los Angeles. Those are likely the images you saw online — the whole internet basically blew up when he began sharing incredibly cute images on social media of himself and his foster pups. “Star Trek: Picard” will return for a second season — eventually (it’s been delayed like so much else these days) — though there’s no word on whether the dog will reprise his role.
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