Photo Credit: Dave Bautista/Instagram
Dave Bautista has been in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise since its inception om 2014 but says this last installment is it for him. As for the reason he’s doing this, those shirtless scenes are just taking a toll on him to keep up.
In a recent Ellen interview he said, “I’m going to be 54 years old by the time Guardians 3 comes out,” he told DeGeneres about why he’ll no longer play Drax the Destroyer. “The shirtless thing is getting harder and harder for me.” This is an interesting take for him at 52.
Do you know who else we’ve heard make a similar statement about not wanting to continue appearing shirtless around? Tyrese. He’s said before that he’s done all the shirtless sex symbol scenes and modeling, been there done that and he has no desire to make the effort to keep that image up. And Tyrese is 10 years younger than him.
Bautista and director James Gunn have a tight bond. He credits the director for taking a chance on him. In a 2018 Ellen interview he said, “I struggled, I starved for three years, I could barely get a job. There were a few people who believed in me along the way, but James was the one who really changed the course of my life.”
When controversial tweets came out from Gunn in 2018, Bautista had considered leaving the franchise then in solidarity. He wrote about it on social media saying, “I’m not okay with what’s happening to him.” He even signed an open letter along with the cast expressing regret for the situation. Gunn was ultimately rehired in 2019.
For the Bautista fans, he’s starring in Army of the Dead, out on Netflix already this week. He told Yahoo Entertainment, “I wanted to be the leader, it was something I chased after. “But I never felt like I was the center of attention on set, because if you watch the film, you see that every character gets their moment to shine. Usually supporting character get lost in the shuffle. Zack did a great job making sure every character was highlighted, and the film is this roller coaster ride of fun. I’m super-proud of it.”
Will you all be missing seeing a shirtless Bautista on camera? If he does in fact keep his word with that, at least he’s had plenty of old material to refer to should the urge ever arise.
