It just wasn't his speed
Dave Bautista turned down the chance to be in the Fast and Furious franchise after taking some acting career advice from
The Rock.
After wrapping his final
Guardians of the Galaxy movie and playing the character of Duke in
Glass Onion, Bautisa is in high-demand as an actor.
Knives Out director Rian Johnson, who cast Bautista in the murder mystery sequel, revealed that the wrestler had a totally different idea of the character Duke in his head before casting.
Previously picturing "a scrawny dude who’s trying to overcompensate", Johnson said he was "instantly so smitten" once the idea of Bautista playing the role came up and called himself a "very big fan of his dramatic chops as an actor".
While he's appeared in some mega-money franchises, most notably the
Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bautista has also reportedly rejected the opportunity to be in the Fast and Furious franchise.
He was offered a part but passed on it because it just wasn't his thing and he wanted to play something in a Gears of War adaptation instead.
Bautista told Collider he wasn't really interested in it in Fast and Furious.
He said: "I don’t mean to offend anybody. I’m not putting down anything else, I’m just saying [Gears] is way more interesting to me.
"I don't want to pretend like I'm actually interested in something I'm not when there’s something I'm actually really excited about that you guys have under control. Would you consider me for that?"
"I don't think there’s any harm in that. I’m not trying to step on anybody else’s toes, I’m just saying like this is what I love and I’m seriously passionate about this. I can do a good job for you guys on this."
Bautista has talked about receiving advice from fellow wrestler and longtime rival of Dwayne Johnson's, Stone Cold Steve Austin, who said he'd get offered "horrible scripts" and that while the money will be "tempting", he should turn them down and not get "caught in that trap".
And it seems to have paid off.
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