After finishing his final Guardians of the Galaxy film and rushing off to his next project without even having time to celebrate with his cast, Dave Bautista is now a very well-respected actor. Dave Bautista once declined the opportunity to appear in the Fast and Furious series after consulting Dwayne Johnson’s main adversary in wrestling for acting guidance.
A Career After the Ring
He works hard and is in high demand, and many people believe that of all the wrestling stars to pursue acting, he is the most talented. The idea is supported by Knives Out filmmaker Rian Johnson, who cast Bautista in a significant part in his murder mystery follow-up, Glass Onion, and admitted that he originally had a very other conception of the character Duke in mind.
A Hard Pass
While Bautista has starred in some hugely successful franchises, most notably the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has also turned down the chance to be a part of the Fast and Furious movie franchise, which is a box office powerhouse. He turned down a part in the franchise when it was offered to him since Gears of War was more his style and he preferred it. According to Bautista, he declined the invitation to appear in Fast and Furious because he wasn’t very interested in the project.
Stone Cold Steve Austin, a fellow wrestler and Dwayne Johnson’s longtime foe, has given counsel to Bautista in the past. He said he was cautioned by his fellow wrestler that he was ‘going to get offers for bad screenplays’ and ‘the money will be appealing’, but above all he should avoid getting ‘caught in that trap’. The suggestion seemed to have worked, as Bautista recalled that even when he was having financial difficulties in his post-WWE days, he was “picky and choosy” about his movie parts. It would be impossible to argue that he made the wrong decision in following the counsel given his current career.