STACK NZ Dec #58

DVD&BD FEATURE

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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.

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 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

How did you deal with the long hours in the make-up chair?

total sense to put you in the mood. James always had an answer.

I became this big, menacing physical stature of a man but

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

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.

internally I’m still kind of insecure: [Laughs] warm, fuzzy and gooey.

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.

DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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