Dave Bautista
Former professional wrestler and actor Dave Bautista stars in James Bond's latest adventure "SPECTRE" as Mr. Hinx Courtesy Photo

David Bautista is a former professional wrestler, signed to WWE under the ring name Batista, who’s also known for his domain on martial arts and acting career. Bautista portrays the evil Mr. Hinx in the latest James Bond adventure “SPECTRE” and says it was a dream come true to work with the cast and director Sam Mendes. The film is already smashing world box office records and is set to open all over the western hemisphere on November 6.

At last night’s premiere in Mexico City, Bautista said it meant a lot to see his fans cheer for him in a country where wrestling is as important as it is to him. Latin Times had the chance to speak to Mr. Bautista about all things wrestling, acting fight scenes and being able to take his career in different directions.

Latin Times: Tell us a bit about your character Mr. Hinx and in what ways you relate to him, if any.

Dave Bautista: Well, [laughs] it’s hard for me to relate to him on a personal level, cause I can honestly say I’m nothing like Mr. Hinx. He’s so intimidating, but it’s funny how he’s intimidating while being happy at the same time, which is probably more terrifying. He’s very elegant, sophisticated, well trained and very methodical, which I am none of the above, so I had a lot of fun playing him. It’s fun to play a character that’s nothing like yourself.

LT: And have you been a long-time Bond fan or did you recently become one?

DB: Oh, absolutely. I’ve always been a fan. I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a James Bond film to look forward to. Roger Moore was the Bond in my era, but I’ve always been a huge Sean Connery Bond fan.

LT: How much of your stunt work did they let you do?

DB: Yes, I did some of them. I actually have this great stunt double, his name is Robin Crjhasgdahj, and he’s doubled me in three movies now. There are some things I just don’t feel qualified to do, or would be safe. I did do the bulk of my fighting scenes for sure, but not all of the stunts. I’d rather do the fight scenes cause that what I’m good at, but anything that involves wires, I stay away from.

LT: Was there ever a fight scene where you got carried away?

DB: No, not really. I’m pretty controlled and this is something I’ve done for years and years, so I didn’t get carried away, but I did get a pretty good punch in the nose from Daniel [Craig]. [Laughs]

LT: What was your favorite thing about making a Bond movie?

DB: A bit of everything. It was a really good experience to get to pack your things and move from country to country, and go to different locations within those countries. I’d done “Guardians” and went to London, but once we were there we stayed there. Filmmaking is something that’s always fascinated me, so getting to see an Academy Award winning director work was such an amazing opportunity, and watching performers like Lea and Daniel Craig was amazing. I mean, Christoph Waltz is hypnotic; getting to see him perform a scene is just mesmerizing.

LT: Tell us what your dream role would be? Which superhero would you want to play?

DB: When I started doing movies I had a list of things I wanted to do; superhero stuff, sci-fi, vampire stuff, gangster stuff and I’ve pretty much gotten to do everything except a vampire, so we’ll see. But more than a role, I have a list of directors I’d want to work with, like Guy Ritchie, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese; working with them would be a dream job, just like it was a dream to work with Sam Mendes.

LT: We should get the message out to these folks!

DB: Definitely, especially Guy Ritchie. I’ll pester him until he hires me. [Laughs.]

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