'Wasn't All Pleasant': Dave Bautista exits Marvel, says goodbye to 'silly' Drax role

Dave Bautista, former WWE star-turned-actor, said he was relieved at leaving Marvel's 'Drax the Destroyer' role behind. After the playing the character for over 10 years across seven separate MCU films, Bautista is more than ready to move on.  

Speaking to GQ, Bautista said, "I'm so grateful for Drax. I love him. But there's a relief [that it's over]. It wasn't all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy — it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.”

The actor time and again has expressed his frustration over the role. In an interview last year, Bautista told Collider that Marvel "dropped the ball" in terms of portraying Drax accurately on the big screen.

“I really wished they would have invested more in Drax, personally because I think Drax has more of a story to tell. I think Drax has a really interesting backstory, which they dropped the ball on,” said the actor. 

Dave Bautista wants to 'keep getting better at what he does'

The most crucial thing for Bautista is to push himself and keep getting better at what he does. He said: "I'm terrified of stuff. "I worry about some things. However, I can push myself to do uncomfortable things because I know that if I don't, I won't advance. Even if I might wince afterward, I won't allow my fear to stop me."

The 30-year-old actor first got into professional wrestling while working as a bouncer. He eventually rose to become one of John Cena's fiercest rivals in WWE.

In terms of establishing his post-Marvel acting career, Bautista says his other 2023 film projects are a step on the right path. The actor will be next seen in M. Night Shyamalan's 'Knock at the Cabin', followed by 'Guardians Vol. 3' and Denis Villeneuve's eagerly awaited 'Dune: Part Two'.