Making the transition from the world of sports entertainment, WWE, to the big screen isn’t exactly easy. In fact, few have the success similar to the like of John Cena and Dwayne Johnson. Dave Bautista eventually did, though it took a lot of work along the way.

As Dave admitted with Wired, finding success wasn’t exactly easy when making the jump, given how different both worlds are, “It's a different kind of performance entirely. For one, I was never very good at the backstage stuff or the promo stuff with interviews. I was always better with the in-ring stuff, the physical performances. Wrestling's so big and so broad, whereas this feels is more intimate and small.”

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Dave thrived in ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’, however, truth be told, the process itself wasn’t the easiest.

“Terrifying Audition”

Dave summed up his audition experience in one word, “terrifying.” To make matters worse, the more callbacks he got, the more nerve-wracking the experience was, “I took this huge leap onto Guardians! It was such a higher level, this huge project which originally I never thought I'd have a chance in hell of getting. Each time I was called back it became more nerve-wracking and more real. And of course, there was a bigger chance I wouldn't get the part. It's just one of those things.”

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Dave got the role, the biggest of his career. Though in truth, things once again got started with pure nervousness, given he was two weeks behind everyone else.

The Newcomer

Not only was he nervous about the film but to make matters even more complicated, he joined two weeks later than everyone else.

Just picture the scenario of working with some of the best, who are already in full work mode while you join the cast, cold as ice. That’s what the experience was like for Bautista early on, “I was still nervous, especially on my first day. I came into shooting about two weeks after everybody else started, so I turn up and everyone was in work mode while I was trying to get caught up, get in the groove with everybody else. There was this huge elaborate prison set and all these extras. It was difficult because you had all these actors who were already in the groove and I was still self-conscious and trying to get there. Yeah, it was nerve-wracking, but I fell into a groove after the first day and it became easier.”

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dave bautista behind the scenes

It all worked out for Dave and it took a serious effort, he was in the makeup chair four hours every single day before the shoot, along with another hour and a half to remove all the makeup. It all worked out for the better, as it would lead to several other roles, including roles in Dune and Army Of The Dead, which are set for releases in the near future.

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Sources: IMDB & Wired