Dave Bautista: “I Want Good Roles. I Don’t Care About Fast And Furious or Bumblebee”

Dave Bautista has never been shy in sharing his opinions, and that includes his movie career and the roles he wants to go for, which aren’t always of the blockbuster variety like Bumblebee or Fast and Furious.

Bautista has been a beloved part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing the character of Drax to life in several Marvel films, including the most recent Avengers: Infinity War. Bautista’s latest project is the talent-packed Dune, and in a new interview, he explained that he’s about taking those type of projects as opposed to just blockbuster projects.

“Rock was, in a way, a movie star before he was even a movie star. There is something about him that’s really special. I’d never take that away from him,” Bautista told the Tampa Bay Times. “Would I consider him a great actor? F— no. I want good roles. I don’t care about Fast and Furious or Bumblebee. … That’s not the kind of stardom I want. … I want to be in Dune. I want to work with Denis Villeneuve. I want to work with Sam Mendes and Jodie Foster. I want to work with Academy Award winners. I’m proud to be a character actor. I want that respect and credibility and education.”

Dune is a high-profile project, though not in the same blockbuster way that something like Bumblebee falls into. Granted, Bautista has been in several Marvel projects, so it’s not like he’s opposed to blockbusters, as so far he’s appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Avengers: Infinity War, with appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Avengers: Endgame coming up.

Since his first turn as Drax, he’s also worked on films like Spectre (Hinx), Blade Runner 2049 (Sapper Morton), and Hotel Artemis (Everest), and has a number of projects up for 2019 and 2020, including Stuber, My Spy, and Dune.

Bautista wants roles that entice him, and that’s probably why it took a bit longer to get him back into WWE. Bautista (Batista in the ring) made a big splash last night on Monday Night Raw, pouring gasoline on a program with Triple H that will likely culminate in a WrestleMania 35 match between the two former Evolution members. After his last run in WWE, he soured on it a bit, but it remains to be seen what the story that WWE pitched him was that pulled him back in.

Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th.

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