Former WWE Superstar Dave Batista recently spoke to CinemaBuzz about his role in the new film Blade Runner 2049, which hits theaters October 6th.
Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel to Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking sci-fi film from 1982. The film takes place 30 years after the events in the original. A new Blade Runner, LAPD Officer K, must find Rick Deckard after unearthing a secret that could destroy society as they know it. The film co-stars Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.
It’s been a long journey for Batista, who started out as a WWE Superstar and transitioned to mixed martial arts before making it big in Hollywood. With successful films like House of the Rising Sun, The Man With The Iron Fists, James Bond: Spectre and the Guardians of the Galaxy Series among his credits, Batista admits it wasn’t easy breaking into Hollywood.
“Well it’s weird that you say that because I never think along those lines and when I left wrestling I really left to pursue acting,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a long route because I passed up a lot of the roles that you would think I would be after – the action roles, the typical ‘big ex wrestler’ roles.”
“I passed on those because I really wanted to prove myself as an actor and I wanted to prove to people that I don’t want to be a movie star. I want to be an actor. I just fell in love with it and it’s been a long route.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J833t59ffMM
As for the biggest challenge he faced in Hollywood, Batista said it was shaking his WWE image and the stereotype of being a pro wrestler.
“I think initally my biggest challenge was to get people to see past that persona I put on in WWE. To realize I wasn’t going to come into a room and try to intimidate everyone and start barking and screaming and growling at everyone and hitting people with chair. It was just to get past that stereotype”
Check out the official trailer for Blade Runner 2049: