M. Night Shyamalan Details Creative Process With Dave Bautista in Knock At The Cabin (Exclusive)

“One of the best performances of the year” is how M. Night Shyamalan described his leading man’s day at the office in Knock at the Cabin. For the first time in their respective careers, Shyalaman and Dave Bautista teamed up to bring an apocalyptic, tension-filled thriller to the big screen, one which is largely contained to a singular room. This claustrophobic nature of Knock at the Cabin leaves little room for on-screen talent to hide in the background, as just about every one of the film’s characters are featured in most scenes. With Bautista as the ensemble’s anchor, this meant the wrestler-turned-actor was bearing a brunt of the dramatic weight throughout Knock at the Cabin‘s 100 minutes.

Speaking to ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley at the Knock at the Cabin world premiere, Shyamalan detailed the journey that he and Bautista went on from the first table read to the finished product.

“It was a process of him believing that he was as good as he was,” Shyamalan said. “It’s really that. Dave is a very humble guy and self-deprecating, willing to work extremely hard. There’s good drive to make yourself better, and then there’s destructive where it starts to hold you back.”

Once he understood Bautista’s humility, Shyamalan noted that he worked hard to ensure his leading man realized his full potential.

“[I was] just making sure that Dave wasn’t holding himself back by not risking,” Shyamalan continued. “Dave started letting go and really risking in all of our rehearsals. He’s perfect for the role and he was at the perfect place in his life. I think the chemistry with everybody sent him over the top and so by the time we got to actually shooting, he was ready.”

The praise Shyamalan gives Bautista kicks off what will be one of the busiest years of the actor’s career. Following the release of Knock at the Cabin, Bautista has a film premiering at South by Southwest, which then leads into the press tour for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Come the fall, Bautista returns for Dune: Part Two.

Knock at the Cabin is in theaters now.