Rian Johnson Says Glass Onion’s Dave Bautista Is The Best Wrestler-Turned-Actor So Far

While Rian Johnson is known for assembling stellar, A-list casts, one actor stood out when he was announced for Glass Onion, and in the film itself. That would be Dave Bautista, the former WWE star who has been making it big in Hollywood the past few years.

Bautista, even in a film alongside the likes of Daniel Craig, Ed Norton and Kate Hudson, is exceptionally memorable as Men’s Rights Twitch streamer Duke Cody where (spoilers) he becomes one of the two murder victims of the film.

While Bautista first truly broke out with his role in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy as Drax, he also stole the early moments of Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 as a replicant in hiding. Now, he’s back doing comedy for Rian Johnson, who agreed with an Atlantic interviewer who called him the best “wrestler-turned actor” there is:

“I absolutely 100 percent agree. And I think somebody like [Paul Thomas Anderson] is going to give him a real part and is gonna look like a genius. As a person, Bautista is genuinely, immediately vulnerable when you meet him, and that’s what I was excited about. This is someone who has the physical trappings of someone who would play it big, but he actually brings sensitivity to the role.”

If we’re talking about other competitors for the role of “top wrestler turned actor” there’s really only the big three at the moment. Yes, Ronda Rousey was in that one Fast and Furious movie. Sasha Banks has had a small part in The Mandalorian. Other wrestlers from Triple H to Stone Cold have showed up in various action movies in the past. But of course we’re mainly talking about The Rock, John Cena and Dave Bautista when we have this conversation.

Is Bautista the best of them? I’d certainly say so. The Rock may be the biggest movie star, and has been the highest paid actor in Hollywood for years, but he’s deeply focused on being an action star, and I think Bautista has a lot more range. The Rock is generally playing some badass, charming variant of himself in his films, Bautista has shown a lot more diversity.

I also think John Cena is pretty great, though if The Rock is almost solely focused on action, Cena is mainly focused on action-comedy for his main roles, including yet again, James Gunn casting him as Peacemaker on the other side of the comic universe for DC, which led to a great role in a movie, and his own HBO Max series. Can Cena do drama and depth as well as Bautista? Again, I wouldn’t bank on it, even if I’m basing most of this one that singular Blade Runner scene.

But Bautista wants more. And while Rian Johnson loves him and utilizes him well in Glass Onion, it’s another comedic role playing on his size. A very touching interview with GQ shows that Bautista really does want those more serious roles:

“I know it sounds weird, but that’s where my passion is. If you ask me to put a label on my style of acting, I would tell you I’m a dramatic actor. I understand this the way I look physically is distracting for those types of roles. I think it’s going to take someone to look outside the box. That’s not the easiest thing to do, especially when, a lot of times they just won’t need to. They got me over here and I look like a gorilla and I could play this part. But they got this guy over here who was a talented actor, a big name. He can play the part, but he also looks the part. It’s an easy choice.

Look, at first, even I would have trouble seeing myself as, like, a romantic lead. But I want to play the part! I want the challenge. I’m a lovable guy, I can do it. There was a casting director named Sarah Finn, she cast most of the Marvel stuff. When I had gone in to audition for Drax she told me about Lee Pace, who plays Ronan. She was talking about Lee like he was the greatest thing ever. She was like, “Lee can do anything. Play any part, anything.” I want Sarah Finn to be saying that about me. I want my peers and casting directors and directors to say, Dave can do anything.”

That was 2019, and I believe that future in is the cards for him Bautista still. We’ll have to see. If you don’t love him already, here’s one more video of Bautista entering the Glass Onion set to his WWE theme music and giving Rian Johnson his heavyweight championship belt.

What a guy, man.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.