Dave Bautista (“Drax”) 5/3 10

When Dave Bautista walked into the room I half expected Drax, a loud and boisterous character but instead, we got a very quiet and reserved gentleman. Yes, Dave Bautista, although a very intimidating figure at first glance, is very, very reserved. Even though he wasn’t what I had expected, they never are, I felt a connection to some of the things he said about being in the spotlight. Read on to see what he said.

 

Interview: Dave Bautista Talks Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 #GOTGVOL2 #GOTGVOL2Event 1
Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

 

On Drax having a larger storyline in Vol. 2 

You’re not gonna like this answer. [CHUCKLES] When I first read the script, I wasn’t crazy about it. This is my initial reaction, when I usually get a script I go over my dialogue first. So, I read over my dialogue and for one I was expecting them to go a different direction with Drax. I thought he was gonna be more of the destroyer. I thought he was gonna be a more comic book Drax and then I realized they were going — they were digging more into the funny bits and I don’t find myself funny at all, so when I was reading these lines I was like they’re not funny and I just didn’t really get them and I read the script, and I thought, wow, this is really a great script. It’s deep. It’s emotional, but I still was a little bit disappointed about my part. Then the first day we did our table read, I realized it was hysterical. [LAUGHS] And then I just had a completely different outlook on it as a whole.

 

On what he thinks about seeing the finished film.

Let me talk about the whole film first. I think it’s beautiful. I like it better than the first film. It’s weird. It’s one of things I feel like the more and more we get into film. I just get so emotionally invested in this film. I felt that the first one was fun and exciting and some parts were very emotional, but not like this one. I felt like I was just totally absorbed in this film. As far as watching me on film, I just cringe. I just like don’t watching myself on film. It’s just uncomfortable and last night at the premiere every time I was on the screen like and I knew I was gonna say something I just kinda put my head down and just try to get through it. I just don’t like it. I’m just uncomfortable with it.

Interview: Dave Bautista Talks Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 #GOTGVOL2 #GOTGVOL2Event 2
Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

On the possibility of Drax having a relationship 

No, and if I can have input on it, I would say no, because it’s the root of who Drax is. Drax lives for his heartbreak. You know, he’s just too heartbreaking. I don’t think he’ll ever have a romantic connection with anyone.

Dave Bautista (“Drax”) 5/3 5
Photo credit Louise Bishop / MomStart.com

Did wrestling help form Drax?

Not really, but someone said something to me the other day that kinda resonated a little bit, and I never really put any thought into it. He was making the comparison, and I said there’s no comparison. I said wrestling is so big and so broad and such a big, you know, improvisational physical performance, and acting is so intimate. He goes, yeah, but Drax is so big. He’s so larger than life. And I never really thought about it, but it really is. So, maybe subconsciously it does help a little bit, because Drax is definitely not who I am.

He’s big and boisterous and a little bit egotistical and proud. [CHUCKLES] And I’m just, you know, and I’m not that. I’m just much more self-conscious and understated.

 

What do you hope for your character moving forward?

If I had some input in it, I would say I’d really love is for people to have a visual, you know, a face, a name to put with a face. And I’d love if they would actually show Drax’s family. You know, some of the race of beings that he comes from. I’d like to see more of Drax’s people, more people with different tattoos and just that race of people. But I really think it would be great if the audience could just have a visual of Drax’s family.

Interview: Dave Bautista Talks Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 #GOTGVOL2 #GOTGVOL2Event
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..Drax (Dave Bautista)..Ph: Chuck Zlotnick..©Marvel Studios 2017

On the makeup process

It takes about an hour and a half now. On the first film it took like four to six hours. It was just like these bit sheets of silicone, but it’s like these glue transfers that they have and it takes about an hour a half. It’s really hard to get off, but otherwise it goes on really fast and I can’t complain.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Zoe Saldana Interview #GOTGVOL2 #GOTGVOL2EVENT 1
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..L to R: Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Ego (Kurt Russell)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

On what it’s like to be on set

A lot of laughs. I think you guys have all interviewed Chris, and he just loves making people laugh. You know, and I think sometimes he’s just hysterical not even trying. Just a lot of great chemistry and we also got really close in the first film. We’ve spent so much time together on press tours and whatnot and now we’ve actually done like three films together as the Guardians.

 

Dave Bautista (“Drax”) 5/3 3
Photo credit Louise Bishop / MomStart.com

On the Guardians being in the Avengers.

 I would love to spill the beans but no. I can tell you that we’re in the Avengers. [LAUGHS] I can tell you this. We’re in the Avengers. [LAUGHS]

But here was my fear going into the Avengers was that they were gonna try to make us into characters that we weren’t, they were gonna take their idea of the Guardians and try to go with that and not let us be James Gunn’s Guardians. And it was completely opposite. For one, we had the luxury of James did a lot of the writing for us also when we showed up the Russo brothers were just so encouraging of us being our characters. They were just very encouraging of just letting us do things our way and not only that but they really liked it. Like they really appreciate it. A lot of times we would say something that wasn’t even on page, wasn’t even close to what was on page and they’d come running on, what was that you said on the last take‘ And we’d say it again. They’d say, yeah, do that again. They just kinda let us be ourselves, man. It was great!

 

What do you do in your downtime?

I go home to Tampa and I hide. [LAUGHS] I do. I live in a regular neighborhood. I’m surrounded by all military families. It’s just kind of a normal neighborhood. My wife shys away from the spotlightm she doesn’t like it. So, it’s just like real life and I like being there. I’m very content there, because like all this attention and the spotlight are very uncomfortable for me.

I tell people like that because nobody really gets it. When we’re walking like down the red carpet and they’re saying, oh, this is great and I’m like for me it’s not. I enjoy it. I don’t hate it, but at the same time it’s just overwhelming for me. I think a lot of people have a hard time relating why that would be overwhelming, especially when they look at what I’ve done for a living, you know, with wrestling and everything being out there in the spotlight. I did it, because I love it. I was passionate about it. That doesn’t mean I was always like super comfortable. I did it because I wanted to step outside of my career zone and pursue my dreams, which is terrifying.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Zoe Saldana Interview #GOTGVOL2 #GOTGVOL2EVENT 3
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..L to R: Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Nebula (Karen Gillan)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

On working out

It’s like a lifetime thing for me. It’s a commitment thing. I think people expect me to have a certain personality because of the way I look, and I always tell people I look the way I do because of the personality that I have. Because the only place I ever felt comfortable was working out. Like I just felt like I was a fish put back in water. I felt like I could just do this on my own. It just made me feel good. It made me feel more confident, and that’s why I look the way I do.

It’s just because of self-consciousness on the inside, not because I had this personality where I feel like I have to be the biggest guy in the room. So, it’s just something I do. It’s a life commitment for me. I watch what I eat and I instead of being driven from here to there, which is sometimes ridiculous, I’ll just walk off the set and I’ll just run from here to there or jog or whatever, a lot of pushups in my trailer or free squats on set when we’re standing there nothin’ just to keep my blood flowin’.

So, just like little things like that. Just being conscious and aware of it but also having that thing internally which says that working out just makes me feel better. You know, it just makes me get through the day easier.

 

Dave Bautista (“Drax”) 5/3 8

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” blasts into theaters on May 5, 2017.

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