Batista Shoots On The Rock And John Cena's Acting Careers

Dave Bautista - formerly known as Batista, because the WWE universe obviously couldn't handle that rogue "U" there - is making something of a name for himself as an actor. He was one of the best parts of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy movies (and indeed Avengers: Infinity War), added real presence to Spectre as henchman Mr Jinx and was a good, if somewhat brief, part of Blade Runner 2049. He also jumped a motorbike on top of a football stadium in Final Score, which was definitely a thing that happened.

In his immediate future, he's got Avengers: Endgame, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 (should it ever happen), and the starry remake of Dune, which will reunite him with 2049 director Denis Villeneuve. There's also the small matter of his return to WWE, which started with an assault on Birthday Boy Ric Flair and will presumably culminate in something at WrestleMania 35 - though whether that will be Triple H depends on his successful rehabilitation.

Interestingly, Bautista spoke to Tampa Bay Times to confirm that he doesn't consider himself a wrestler any more, while talking about his acting career. You know, despite the fact that he is currently active in WWE. He's obviously also still got the pro wrestling promo bug too, because the interview basically comes across as a shoot on two of the most notable wrestlers who've turned their hand to acting in the same vein Bautista did.

Despite the fact that his move into Hollywood follows the same trajectory as those of The Rock and John Cena, Bautista explained that he hates being lumped in with them, He is different and he's here to tell you why:

“Those guys are wrestlers who became movie stars. I’m ... something else. I was a wrestler. Now, I’m an actor.”

So, The Rock - one of the world's highest paid actors currently and a genuine bankable box office asset - is not an actor. He's just a wrestler who became a movie star? To be fair to him, Bautista does concede that The Rock has "something special" but it doesn't seem like that has anything to do with acting. Instead, it's an ability to draw based on charisma and his own acting aspirations are completely different:

"Would I consider him a great actor? F--ck no...I want good roles. I don’t care about Fast and Furious or Bumblebee. ... That’s not the kind of stardom I want. ... I want to be in Dune. I want to work with Denis Villeneuve. I want to work with Sam Mendes and Jodie Foster. I want to work with Academy Award winners. I’m proud to be a character actor. I want that respect and credibility and education.”

In other words, the other two haven't paid their dues as actors. They're drawing because of their established profiles within WWE - which is a little unfair in the case of The Rock - and their roles aren't challenging.

It's not entirely true, of course, because Cena's comedy roles so far have required more than empty-headed action movies and The Rock has shown far more acting skill than anyone could accuse other wrestler/actors like Hulk Hogan or The Miz of before him. Just because they're in blockbusters - which Bautista himself also is - doesn't make them second class.

And it's not like Final Score is Shakespeare.

Read Next: Backstage Update On Roman Reigns & Batista's WWE Schedules