Los Angeles – “It’s just crazy!” exclaimed Dave Bautista, the first Filipino-American actor to be featured in a James Bond film. “It’s very surreal. Knowing that I came from poverty and I am now involved in this stuff is like a dream.”
Appearing as Mr. Hinx in the latest Daniel Craig-starrer, “Spectre,” the 46-year-old actor promised he’ll be a villain to remember – a “bad ass,” as he put it.
Born in Washington, DC to David Michael Bautista, who is of Filipino descent, and his mother of Greek descent, David Michael “Dave” Bautista, Jr. is a 6’6” tall and 278-pound former wrestler. He sports two Philippine flag tattoos and a Greek flag tattoo on his arms.
“Being in the Philippines is always a special thing for me,” he said of a former visit to the country.
He added, “This is that kind of a bittersweet weekend for me because I have a very close friend named Nonito Donaire (the Fil-Am boxer known as ‘The Filipino Flash’). I’m actually godfather to his son Jarel. He’s fighting in the Philippines this weekend and I thought I was going to be there but I’m here.”
Dave hasn’t been back in years but he’s been looking forward to doing so for quite a time now.
“It is a special place for me because I’m half Filipino. The Philippines embraces me like I am a prodigal son and whenever I go back, I feel it. It’s a very emotional thing.”
He suddenly paused and got all choked up.
“I am sorry,” he apologized. “Just to kind of put things in perspective, when I was in the Philippines for one trip, I had gone and wrestled. Sorry, this is a bit emotional for me. So at the end of my match, I got in the corner and I had a Philippine flag. I held it and I saw all these people in the front row crying and it just hit my heart.”
A softie at heart, Dave nevertheless makes a fine onscreen villain. But what makes a good Bond villain, we asked.
Dave Bautista on the far right alongside Spectre cast members.
“What makes memorable Bond characters is just something interesting in their nature,” he explained. “What is going to be memorable about Mr. Hinks is that he is very big, very scary… very menacing but he’s also very happy. That is what is going to make him interesting.” He also describes the character as “very easy going” and “has not a care in the world.”
Speaking to director Sam Mendes about his character, Dave noted, “He said Mr. Hinks is a bad ass and very intelligent. That was what I love about the character, right off the bat, because a lot of times I realize people are going to look at me a certain way. They’re going to have a perception of me and (that is) he’s very big, and probably not too bright. And I hate that. I really despise that.”
When we told the former six-time world champion that he reminded us of the mute James Bond villain, Odd Job, he said, “I am not going to give away too many details of my character but yeah, I am not Odd Job… but he is my favorite James Bond character henchman ever. There are certain similarities to my character… he was very big and very menacing. But he was also a very happy character. I love that. I loved his smile and also there’s a similarity of him being a former professional wrestler as well.”
Janet Nepales interviewing Dave Bautista.
We asked Dave, who was simply known as “Batista” during his wrestling days, how his career has changed when he became an actor and people started recognizing him.
“I couldn’t even explain how much it’s changed because people started looking at me in a different light,” he admitted. “It just opened all kinds of new doors for me. Years after I left wrestling, I was knocking on doors trying to get people to meet with me because I just had that certain label that people slapped on me, from being a part of the WW. It’s still a struggle. I’m still auditioning and fighting for roles but it definitely is the reason I’m sitting here today – because somebody saw me in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (as Drax the Destroyer) and saw that I wasn’t what you would automatically perceive me to be.”
In parting, he said, “‘Guardians’ is always going to have such a special place for me because of where I was at in my life then and how much that film and that part in particular has just changed the direction of my life.
Credit: Manila Bulletin, Janet Nepales
