If you haven’t heard, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is the talk of the town. There’s a good reason for it, too. The whodunit features stellar performances from Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr., and Kathryn Hahn. In addition to the wrinkles on Dave Bautista‘s head. Despite its short run in theaters, Glass Onion has been a big hit with Netflix viewers.
Rian Johnson, director of both Knives Out films, talked up Bautista in a way that may stir up some friendly debate in the Glass Onion fandom. “When I was writing [his character, a men’s-rights streamer named Duke Cody], I was picturing a scrawny dude who’s trying to overcompensate,” Johnson said in a recent interview with The Atlantic. “When Bautista was brought up, I was instantly so smitten by the idea. I’ve been a very big fan of his dramatic chops as an actor.”
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For the past two decades, Dave Bautista has been a professional wrestler, having several stints in the WWE. As of today, Bautista is a major player in Hollywood, having begun dabbling in the acting world in 2006. He played Glossu Rabban in 2021’s Dune, opposite Kumail Nunjani in the action-comedy Stuber, and portrays Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy. According to Johnson, it’s all enough to declare Bautista the best wrestler-turned-actor of all time.
“I think somebody like [Paul Thomas Anderson] is going to give him a real part and is gonna look like a genius,” said Johnson. “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.”
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The appreciation goes both ways, as Bautista shared a video on his Twitter showing a heartwarming moment from Glass Onion’s wrap party in 2021. In the video, Bautista thanks the cast and crew for their hard work—and ends up giving his WWE championship belt to Johnson.
Is Bautista the best wrestler-turned-actor? It’s likely that John Cen (who kicks butt in his DC series, Peacemaker) and Dwayne Johnson (the man formerly known as Black Adam) have something to say about this.
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