Why Dave Bautista Owes His Acting Career To A Hip-Hop Legend
by Ryan Scott · /FilmDave Bautista has managed to carve out quite a career for himself as an actor. From his days playing Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to his work in huge franchises like "Dune," he's no longer a professional wrestler who dabbles in acting. He's a legit actor, through and through, and as it turns out, he largely owes his career to a hip-hop legend.
While promoting their action comedy "The Wrecking Crew" for Prime Video, Bautista and Jason Momoa discussed their favorite members of the Wu-Tang Clan in an interview with Complex. After some back and forth, Bautista landed on Ol' Dirty Bast**d, but he also made sure to shout out RZA. The wrestler-turned-actor had a very good reason for that, too, aside from RZA's talents as a rapper:
"The reason I'm gonna say RZA is not only do I love him, but he helped me start my career. This is why I have a Wu-Tang tattoo. He was very supportive of me very early on when people wouldn't take a chance on me. He got me in my first studio film because he argued. The studio didn't want me either. But he said, 'I really want this guy in it.'"
Bautista is talking about the 2012 martial arts movie "The Man with the Iron Fists," which features him in his pre-Marvel days. Directed and co-written by RZA, who also stars, the movie takes place in China circa the 19th century and sees virtually every kung fu warrior, assassin, and hired gun in the country battling it out to claim a fortune in gold. As for Bautista, he plays Brass Body, a mercenary who (as his name implies) can turn his body into metal.
The Man with the Iron Fists helped legitimize Dave Bautista as an actor
"The Man with the Iron Fists" was released by Universal Pictures and boasts an impressive cast that also includes the likes of Russell Crowe ("Gladiator"), Lucy Liu ("Kill Bill"), and Jamie Chung ("Sucker Punch"), among others. Prior to that, outside of the WWE, Dave Bautista's only major movie credits were "House of the Rising Sun" and "The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption." And for those of you asking, yes, Universal made a third "Scorpion King" movie. It made five of them, actually, but that's neither here nor there.
Even though RZA's love letter to martial arts movies wasn't a big hit, it did indeed help legitimize Bautista as an actor. The year after, he starred in the Vin Diesel passion project that was "Riddick," which was also a Universal Pictures joint. A year later? Bautista made his first appearance as Drax in "Guardians of the Galaxy." That's when everything truly changed.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" was Marvel's most unlikely box office smash, but it was a smash all the same. From that point on, Bautista hasn't had any difficulty getting work. In the years that followed, he starred in "Spectre," "Blade Runner 2049," "Stuber," "Army of the Dead," "Dune," and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," among others. More than just an actor, Bautista has also managed to become a leading man.
Not for nothing, but "Knives Out" director Rian Johnson even believes Bautista is the greatest wrestler-turned-actor, even above Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and John Cena. He's certainly not alone in thinking that, either, and it all goes back to RZA, who fought for Bautista when nobody else would.