STACK NZ Magazine December Issue 58

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What were the big physical
challenges for you on
Guardians Of The Galaxy?
DAVE BAUTISTA : I didn’t
actually find it physically super-
challenging, to be honest. It
was so much fun, man. I don’t
want to make it seem like it
was a simple project because it
wasn’t that by any means, but
I didn’t wake up in the morning
thinking “Goddammit, I’ve gotta
go to work.” I was happy and
excited. It’s hard to say it was
challenging because it was
such a good time.
How did you deal with the long
hours in the make-up chair?
I just zoned-out, but I’m usually a pretty
quiet person. I know that’s a really boring
answer but it’s true. It wasn’t as bad as
people might think because it was kind of
like hanging out with your friends for a
few hours, just talking, and the time flies
by. It was more of a chore taking the
make-up off – getting gunk out of your
ears and your nose.
You’ve said you can relate to the
character of Drax. Can you explain
that a little further?
Your first assumption with Drax is that
he’s just this one-note, stereotypical warrior
who looks menacing and scary, but the
way I approached him is as a father and a
husband who’s really suffering from a lot of
16
DVD&BD FEATURE
DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
How was Guardians
director James Gunn
to work with?
He had such a clear
vision and he made it
super-simple. You always
knew exactly what he
wanted. I learned from
Zoe [Saldana] to ask a lot
of questions. As I say,
I’m usually very quiet and
I don’t say much, but I
learned to start thinking
of things from different
angles and different
peoples’ perspectives and
to ask questions that made
total sense to put you in the mood.
James always had an answer.
Given yourWWE background,
did your fellow cast members
look to you for advice on falling
without hurting themselves etc?
Actually, it was so different from
anything I’d ever done that I put myself
in the student role. What they do in
films is so different; it seems so much
more precise and it’s working towards
camera angles whereas in wrestling it’s
physical improvisation and the cameras
are moving to suit us, you know? We’re
not working for the cameras; we’re
working for a live audience, so it’s really
different. There were things I wasn’t
qualified to do, like a lot of the big
stunts. I didn’t feel safe doing those.
heartbreak. He channels his heartbreak
into revenge. I can relate to him because
I’m not the person I appear to be at first
glance. It’s kind of a double-edged sword
for me because I actually look this way
as a result of the way I am internally. I
spent my whole life being very shy and
introverted and I kind of found my release
and therapy in the gym. I became this
big, menacing physical stature of a man
but internally I’m still kind of insecure:
[Laughs] warm, fuzzy and gooey.
WWE icon Dave Bautista talks about his big Hollywood
breakthrough role in GUARDIANS OFTHE GALAXY,
playing Drax, a quietly-spoken but brutish warrior obsessed
with avenging the death of his wife and child.
I became this big, menacing
physical stature of a man but
internally I’m still kind of insecure:
[Laughs] warm, fuzzy and gooey.
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