The Tampa Bay Times recently interviewed Dave Bautista in which “The Animal” went into detail on his acting aspirations as well as just different aspects of his life and one particular point that he wanted clarity on was his comments regarding The Rock’s acting skills and role choices which are below:
“Do not compare me to The Rock or John Cena. Everyone does it,” and he “hates” it. “Those guys are wrestlers who became movie stars. I’m … something else. I was a wrestler. Now, I’m an actor.
“Rock was, in a way, a movie star before he was even a movie star. There is something about him that’s really special. I’d never take that away from him,” Bautista says. “Would I consider him a great actor? F— 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.
Bastista went on Twitter to make sure people understood what he meant by the comments and how he stands by what he said:
Retweeting this because although the headline is a bit misleading, I really appreciate them pointing out that I was not bashing anyone. I’m not a disrespectful person. I speak from the heart and sometimes it comes across harsh. I stand by the interview w/ @TB_Times #dreamchaser https://t.co/7yCtNasolh
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) February 27, 2019