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Former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista found success in Hollywood through his role in the Marvel Universe as Drax The Destroyer. His physique made him the perfect fit for the role, and he carried the character to glory during each of his appearances throughout the franchise.
He appeared as Drax for the first time in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. Since then, he’s worked in other movies in the Marvel Universe, such as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder. Apart from that, he’s worked extensively in the Vol. 2 and Holiday Special of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Unfortunately, vol 3. of the franchise will be his last.
As per Dave Bautista, he’s reached a point in his career where he wants to do more dramatic roles and less of what the character Drax was doing. Furthermore, he didn’t enjoy the make-up process or the fact that he had to be shirtless all the time when playing the character.
"I'm going to be 54 years old by the time Guardians 3 comes out," he told DeGeneres about why he'll no longer play Drax the Destroyer. "The shirtless thing is getting harder and harder for me."
Furthermore, Dave Bautista revealed that he would have considered being Drax had James Gunn been directing. Since James Gunn announced Vol 3. was his last movie, Bautista decided to step aside as well.
"James Gunn has already announced it's his last film, and when James is done, I'm done." Bautista continued, "The journey has come full circle and I'm just ready to step aside and wrap it up."
Dave Bautista desperately needed Drax to save his career
After Bautista left pro wrestling to pursue a career in Hollywood, it did not quite take off as he expected. Even though he was a renowned WWE Superstar, it just was not enough to break into showbiz.
However, the role of Drax helped him tremendously, both professionally and personally:
"So Drax didn't just change my career. It literally changed the trajectory of my life. My life just got better and I just became more successful," Bautista said of his role as Drax. "And that's when things really just started to seem like surreal. It wasn't many years [earlier] when I was just like borrowing money to pay for food, pay for rent. Borrow money to buy my kids Christmas presents. It wasn't long before all that stuff [had happened]."
Apart from Guardians of the Galaxy, Dave Bautista has starred in other films, including Dune, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, My Spy, and others.
The Animal's last WWE match was at WrestleMania 35, where he put his career on the line in a No Holds Barred Match against Triple H and lost.
