MCU: 10 Actors Who Redefined Their Characters

10. Dave Bautista (Drax The Destroyer)

Nobody thought former WWE mainstay Dave "The Animal" Bautista would set the world on fire as Drax the Destroyer. Namely because they didn't know who the heck Drax was. Like the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the character had spent decades in relative obscurity as part of Marvel's sprawling cosmic lineup. In addition, aside from Dwayne Johnson, the history of pro wrestlers turned actors is pretty poor.

However, none of that was gonna stop Batista from stealing the show.

In what could have been a generic big man performance, Bautista, aided by James Gunn's script, turned Drax into a household name with his charisma and comedic energy. In both Guardians films thus far, Drax's character has managed to balance his absurd and quirky personality ticks with genuine pathos. In addition, Bautista's paradoxically stone-faced yet entirely tongue-in-cheek delivery of such lines as "I have sensitive nipples" and "My father would tell the story of impregnating my mother every winter solstice" has generated some of the MCU's biggest howlers.

While it's true that The Animal was a superstar in WWE, he's become an icon as The Destroyer.