Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I was a poor kid. I came from nothing. We didn't have any money; a lot of times we didn't have any food, and now, all of a sudden, I'm a superhero in a Marvel movie? Talk about the American dream, man - I'm living it.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

'Smallville' gig was another one of those things I got through WWE. At that point, I had absolutely no aspirations to pursue acting.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

The worst injury I have ever suffered in the ring was a torn triceps; they had to take a piece of my hamstring to repair the tear. It was brutal; I was out for 6 months.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

People look at me, and they have a certain perception, and they slap a label on me. The guy you saw in a wrestling ring is not who I am.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

My first acting lessons were Shakespeare. The first time I ever started working with a coach was doing scenes from 'Measure for Measure,' which were tough dramatic scenes. And then 'Taming of the Shrew,' which required comedic timing. And that's the kind of stuff I love.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I'm not a big guy. I'm not a menacing guy. I'm not an intimidating guy. I may look that way, but just spend two seconds talking to me, and you know that's not who I am - not as a person, as a character. It's not who I intend to be.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

Honestly, I don't aspire to be a huge movie star. I really just fell in love with acting... Everything I do on-screen is very subtle.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

Sometimes it's hard to get people to take me seriously as an actor when they just see me as this WWE muscle head.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I look like a gorilla, just the way I'm built.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

For some reason, I'm the guy people love to hate, which I think is weird. People who know me find that very strange, but for some reason, I am. I don't mind being that guy - I have fun with it.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I never excelled at one sport or had a very strong passion for anything other than wrestling and bodybuilding.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I don't want to intimidate people. There's nothing bullyish about me, you know. If there's anybody who's anti-bully, it's me.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I don't watch my playbacks because I hate to see myself act.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

It was always one of my favorite things, the action figures, the video games, when I was with WWE, even though I'm not a gamer. I would literally go out and buy the games just so I could play myself.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I had been struggling to get roles in Hollywood for three and a half years after leaving the WWE. Then I finally got an agent - the agent I have now. He's a great guy, but he turned me down three times before he even decided to take me on a as a client.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

Just getting auditions was rough. But also just learning how to act - when I did my first role, in a film I did which was a favour to a friend, I realised I was really bad at it.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

Especially, I don't want to ever be compared to The Rock because I'd be the poor man's version of The Rock. I'm just not him; it's not who I am as a person or as a performer. The Rock's very big and bold, and I'm not.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

You do take a beating in professional wrestling. But I love it.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

Know your lines; otherwise, have an open mind because you want to get lost in the moment. When you have talented actors and directors to work with, then it's pretty easy to do.

Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista

I'm a professional wrestler at heart, and I miss it.