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Dave Bautista Explains The Difference Between Him And The Rock As Actors

Dave Bautista Explains The Difference Between Him And The Rock As Actors

Whatever the former WWE wrestlers are doing, it's working

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

Dave Bautista has explained the difference between him and fellow wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

Apparently, it's to do with the subtlety of their performance.

While The Rock likes to do everything bigger and brasher - he is The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment, after all - Bautista prefers to do things a little bit more low-key, relying on the nuances of his performance to get things across.

Both have been successful - The Rock in franchises such as Fast & Furious and Jumanji, and Bautista in Marvel's Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy films - and the pair are ripe for comparison because of their WWE backgrounds.

Dave Bautista at the Avengers: Endgame premiere.
PA

However, Bautista - who wrestled under the pseudonym Batista - says that there is no comparison to be drawn.

In an interview with JoBlo, Bautista was asked about whether his muscular frame was an 'asset' to his career.

He replied: "No, because I've tried to go the other route.

"Like, The Rock is a perfect example of someone who uses that strength, so I wanted to go against that grain and make everything much smaller, very subtle. I make a living off of subtlety.

"I want that to be my strength. I want that to be what separates us. I don't want to be that guy who walks in that room, I never wanted to be that guy."

Clarifying that this wasn't a dig at Johnson, Bautista added: "But you know how he is as a character."

The Rock does OK for himself, to be fair.
PA

He then continued: "[The Rock] feels very professional wrestling to me. I don't want to be that guy. I want to be an actor.

"I want to act, I want people to judge me for my acting, my subtlety. I want to take roles that require that.

"I don't want to be a big action guy who just says cool s**t and kills a lot of people and gets the girl. I don't want to be that guy.

"I want to be the guy that makes people cry, who makes people think, who inspires people. I want to be a dramatic actor.

"I just love it. I love acting."

The Rock at the Jumanji premiere.
PA

This is borne out in some of the work that the pair have undertaken since crossing over from the world of sports entertainment.

While The Rock has stayed relatively close to action films over his career, Bautista has worked with celebrate director Denis Villeneuve on more cerebral films such as Blade Runner 2049 and the forthcoming Dune.

Either way, whatever they're both doing, it's working.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: SPORT, TV and Film, Celebrity, The Rock, Wrestling, WWE, US Entertainment