Professional wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has had a very successful transition breaking into the movie business. It’s probably safe to assume that his muscular physique and his past experience as a professional wrestler helped him land his earlier movie roles, as in the beginning of his acting career, he would play intimidating henchmen who were there to pose as a big physical threat to the main hero. While, he still plays characters like that in some of his most recent movies, the most recent being Glossu Rabban in 2021’s Dune, Bautista himself has said that he ready to expand his résumé beyond playing the big and bad tough guy.
Fans of movies and professional wrestling know that Dave Bautista isn’t the only former WWE star to make a successful transition into the movie business. And like Bautista, those now-successful actors typically landed tough guy before taking on more challenging roles. However, is Dave Bautista the best among his ‘wrestler turned actor’ colleagues? It is worth finding out how if he has fared better than the rest of the pack.
Dave Bautista’s Acting Career Has Been Interesting So Far
Dave Bautista definitely has competition with the likes of Dwayne Johnson and John Cena, but there is a difference between the trajectory of his career and his former pro wrestlers. Dwayne Johnson is arguably the biggest star in Hollywood and above all else, he’s the ultimate movie star; but can we say he’s really known for his wide acting range? The same can be said for John Cena, but he’s been making some changes in his acting career himself. Like Bautista, he began playing just your typical action roles, but he has expanded his resume with playing different kinds of characters, most notably Peacemaker. However, it seems Bautista, out of all three, aspires to challenge himself the most as an actor by playing more than just the action star, as can be seen in his roles in Knock at the Cabin and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Now that Dave Bautista is getting older, he has made it clear that improving more as an actor has become more important to him than being just another professional wrestler-turned-actor. And yes, that does mean moving on from the role of Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, the role that really catapulted him into stardom. While its unfortunate for Marvel fans, it’s the most logical move on his end. With each Marvel movie he played Drax in, his performance got progressively better, so even after he departs from the role, we should look at his time as Drax as a testament to how he has improved as an actor, and he deserves to the opportunity to keep getting better.
Dave Bautista Was a Stand Out in Knock at the Cabin
So where does he go from there? What happens after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Drax is currently his most famous role, but it doesn’t have to be his best. In fact, his most recent role in M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin showed audiences that he’s capable of more than just performing as an action star. His portrayal of the character Leonard was far different from what fans are used to seeing him do. He was far more stern and stoic playing Leonard and unlike his other roles, he had very little to do physically. This performance proves that he is very serious about becoming a better actor above just flexing his muscles on camera. And for the record, aside from being serious and intimidating, Bautista can also be funny. Other than Drax, he was hilarious as Twitch streamer Duke Cody in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
So if any fans still have their doubts, they can watch his most recent performances and see that Dave Bautista is indeed getting better as an actor. The end of his time at Marvel could be the beginning of a more serious movie career for the former WWE superstar. And if that’s the case, then Dave Bautista only further cement his status as the best professional wrestler to transition to acting.
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