Los Angeles: WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista, who essays the role of Drax the Destroyer in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has revealed that the audition for James Gunn’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ franchise was nothing less than a nightmare for him.
“I was terrified. I was really desperate at the time. I had hardly worked in three years, and I had gone broke. I had lost all my money from wrestling and I was desperate to get a job. I finally got an agent, like, two weeks before I got the audition for ‘Guardians’,” Bautista said during a panel at the Denver Pop Culture Con.
“My agent says ‘You know, I really had to fight to get you this audition. It was really hard to get, they didn’t really want to audition you. They didn’t want to see any pro wrestlers, so I don’t want to get your hopes up’,” he added.
The 50-year-old actor is also grateful to his agent who not only got him the role but also helped him a lot in understanding the character of Drax.
“He built my hopes really low, so I went in with low expectations. I didn’t understand Drax. I called my acting coach and said ‘I don’t get this’ and he flipped out because he’s like the biggest fanboy,” he informed the reporters.
“Anyway, he made me do a little research and I found one picture of Drax, and I said ‘That looks like me!’ He babied me through this whole process, my first and second auditions, my acting coach came with me, he was holding my hand like a little baby,” he added.
Bautista also credited casting director Sarah Finn for being patient with him.
“I read for Sarah Finn; she’s amazing. I read with her and she said ‘Don’t be nervous. Take your time, we can stay here all day’,” he added.
Bautista was then asked to audition for the Gunn and was selected to play the part. Since then he has reprised his role in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2’. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avenegrs: Endgame’. The actor is now gearing up for the third part in the ‘Guardians…’ franchise, to be helmed by Gunn.
PTI
