I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dave Bautista and discuss Guardians of the Galaxy and his character Drax the Destroyer. Some have said that Dave’s Drax the Destroyer steals the show, and I can’t disagree with them. His portrayal of the very literal character, fueled by his thirst for revenge is not to be missed. Dave also has one of the most touching scenes in the film, which we discuss.
Nate/CBM: During the press conference they mentioned the comic books, were you familiar with them prior to the film?
Dave: No. Not at all. No I was familiar with certain super heroes. They were from comic books, from lunch boxes, but mostly through TV and film. I am a TV and film buff. I didn’t grow up as a comic book reader. I’ve seen them, but I’ve just never opened up one sat and read through, I was the kid that would look at the pictures.
Nate/CBM: Initially you were insecure about landing the role of Drax the Destroyer. The reactions from the screening last night have been very positive, how do you feel about it now?
Dave: Still a little paranoid, a little insecure, but I think It’s the nature of who I am. I think I’m always going to be my own worst critic. And also, I just look at things, certain scenes, like I could have done this better. It’s probably going to be a common thing. Like going into audition for me is absolutely terrifying, but I’m hearing more and more that other actors, even well-established actors are just as terrified going into auditions. I think it’s just a common thing. I think it’s probably pretty common too, that anybody that cares about what they do is gonna be a little bit critical of themselves. They could have done this better, done that better. You know I’m gonna be stressed out. These 100 people are gonna say, “Man you did really great in the film!” and that one person is going to say “Man you really sucked!” and I’m gonna focus on that ONE guy! You know, I don’t know, it’s just my nature.
Nate/CBM: You mentioned picking apart your performance. As far as the film goes, what was your favorite scene and which was your least favorite?
Dave: I think my favorite scene is with me and Rocket, towards the end because I think it was just such an emotional scene without any language, without any dialogue. It was just one of those moments where you just knew what was going on. You just understood and you relate to it. It’s a beautiful moment. You really get that these guys really care about each other.
I think my least favorite scene was the shower scene with Zoe and it’s because I didn’t feel comfortable choking Zoe. I really didn’t and I could tell. She kept saying “Come on man! Come on! Harder! It doesn’t look real!” I was just so uncomfortable with it. Now when I watch it, I feel like you can tell that I was kind of faking it and I kind of pick it apart. I don’t look like I’m serious. I was more concerned that I was hurting her, than I was with delivering my performance. It drives me crazy.
Nate/CBM: How difficult was it being one of the few actors present for the scenes and filming with Groot and Rocket gone not there?
Dave: I never felt like they weren’t there… I never felt like we were acting on green screen, or we were working with puppets… I really got lost in the moment and change and the set. The cast they made it easy to do that.
Nate/CBM: Which was more difficult to play: Serious, no humor, everything goes over your head, or when emotion was required? I imagine that it was probably pretty difficult to keep a straight face on set, especially based upon the dialogue that made into the film which was hilarious.
Dave: I think that the emotional stuff was tougher. It’s just because it’s awkward… I don’t know if it’s for everybody, but for me it’s awkward. I don’t really spill my guts; I wear my heart on my sleeve. If I love someone, I tell them I love them. And I’m not afraid to be emotional, but then to kind of open up your emotions to strangers who are watching you, who are filming you, it really makes you feel a little vulnerable. It’s strange man, so it’s not an easy thing to do. You know, the literal Drax suit becomes a little bit of a joke, because he takes everything literally. You know it wasn’t really hard to do that, because of the people I was working with. It’s really easy to be a straight man to Chris Pratt and also when you’re doing stuff where you get to try it certain ways and deliver lines certain ways and James is directing you, it makes it pretty easy.
Nate/CBM: Did they try ever mess up your lines or mess up your scene on purpose to see if you could keep a straight face?
Dave: No, but we we improved so much. There was more than a few times, where I didn’t keep a straight face. There’s a huge outtake reel. There was a scene… the shower scene, where I took Alexis knife, he played scar face prisoner. We did a bunch of different takes with that. He did a bunch of improv stuff where he literally had us spitting laughing. It was so funny! It didn’t make the final letter, which is more stuff that is going to be on the gag reel, I hope. It was hysterical stuff. There was stuff where I could keep a straight face, but there was more than a few times where I died laughing.
Nate/CBM: How much more are we going to see of Drax and are there any other heroes that you could envision yourself playing on the big screen playing?
Dave: At this moment I would have to say “No”. To look beyond Drax to me, would kind of be sacrilegious. I just couldn’t do it. I never aspired to be an action star or anything. I had my dream list of what I wanted to do and a superhero was one of them. I just don’t feel like it could get any bigger or better than Guardians and Drax. I’m not going to be looking in the direction of action/superhero stuff at all. I’m looking more into character roles, dialogue roles. No man, Drax is where I’m at right now man.
Read my Guardians of the Galaxy review!!!
Read my interview with Michael Rooker / Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy!
From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy's fate in the balance.
Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes, Issue #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector.