Dave Bautista

Dave Bautista

Dave Bautista portrayed Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and will reprise the role in the upcoming films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4.

Significant roles

• Batista in WWE Raw (2004-2010)
• Batista in WWE SmackDown! (2005-2010)
• T.I. in Chuck (2010)
• Ray in House of the Rising Sun (2011)
• Argomael in The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012)
• Brass Body in The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)
• Diaz in Riddick (2013)
• Mr. Hinx in Spectre (2015)

Quotes

• "James made it so easy. Now the pressure's on. Now it has to live up the hype... It's a scary thing when peoples expectations are so high."
• "That's the thing I love about Drax. I don't think people were really expecting him to have such an emotional range. Most people were thinking he's a one-note guy. But he's more heartbroken than anything. That's what I love about the character. He goes from rage to heartbroken over his family."
• "I put in my two cents with Marvel because I thought Drax needed a few more tattoos. I had some specific ideas, but what they want to do with Drax at the end of the day is up to the Powers That Be. But we are coming back, and there is going to be a lot more Drax."
• "Yeah, come on, man. Hell yeah. Yeah, of course I would. At the core of me is the biggest geek you’ve ever met. I’m a superhero fan first and foremost, and…of course, man, I want that to happen. It’s rumors right now, but, you know, I pray every day…and night, and afternoon, and after you walk out the door I’ll go pray and say, “Please let Drax be in The Avengers” [Laughter] Yeah, I hope it’ll happen."
• "I don’t think anybody would be upset with me sharing that I think that’s what they want to do. I think that’s the goal — is, you know, we wanna tell more of the stories of the characters, because the characters are really interesting. You know, I think that’s what made Guardians so successful as characters. They really are interesting. They’re a little — they’re jaded. They’re just not your cookie-cutter characters. They’re definitely not boy scouts and girl scouts by any means, but I think that’s kind of what made people able to relate to them. And I think, yeah, I think definitely they want to tap into some of that some more and tell more stories, which, as a fan, I’m excited to see."
• "I haven’t read the script, and I’m being completely honest when I say that, but I think, having talked to James about the film, I know he’s… I hate to give any spoilers, but I know he’s really going to focus on Drax being a badass. He’s still not really going to get metaphors, even though he thinks he does, but he’ll still be that very literal Drax, but I think you’re going to see a lot more badass Drax."
• "As far as the storyline as a whole, I honestly don’t know, and if I did know obviously I wouldn’t tell you, but I hope they’ll continue on with that path. I hope that it will tie in with The Avengers somewhere down the road. I’ve only heard rumors, but I’m being honest, and I’ve been honest in the past, I hope that it ends up there because I would love to go there."
• "As a fan I would love to see it. Unfortunately it’s always gonna be like that because the studios have a thing. X-Men vs. Avengers will probably never happen. "
• "I was excited about the script. When I first read the script, I wasn’t crazy about my part. It went a different direction than what I thought they were going to go with Drax. That’s just because I was expecting one thing and got another. So I was a little bit thrown off at first. Also, what I usually do when I get a script is I read my dialogue first, I just didn’t really get the jokes. I just didn’t think Drax was that significant in the film, and I don’t find myself funny at all. So I remember reading, and I’m just sitting there not laughing. Like, wow, it was disappointing because I thought Drax was going to be so much more When we sat down for the table read, is when it clicked. It clicked in my head. For one, I could hear everybody doing their own parts, and it was just so funny and deep, and some of it sad. But also, when I would say my lines and people would laugh, it would kind of start to make sense."
• "We knew right away on the screen test, because I screen tested with three or four other actresses, and Pom was the one who I just connected with emotionally. Like me, she just wears her heart on her sleeve, and she’s just got that emotional range. She also has a knack of being able to deliver a joke in a deadpan manner. She’s got the same knack. It just meshed well together."