Dave Bautista

“Just getting auditions was rough. But also just learning how to act - when I did my first role, in a film I did which was a favour to a friend, I realised I was really bad at it.”

“The pressure is always stepping on stage with actors who are just so well-established. It's a scary thing. I haven't been around the block that many times, especially not on big projects. Dialogue makes things easier. When you start bouncing dialogue off of other actors, it becomes comfortable; it becomes conversational.”

“I don't watch my playbacks because I hate to see myself act.”

“I look like a gorilla, just the way I'm built.”

“I'm a professional wrestler at heart, and I miss it.”

“Sometimes it's hard to get people to take me seriously as an actor when they just see me as this WWE muscle head.”

“'Smallville' gig was another one of those things I got through WWE. At that point, I had absolutely no aspirations to pursue acting.”

“Honestly, I don't aspire to be a huge movie star. I really just fell in love with acting... Everything I do on-screen is very subtle.”

“I never excelled at one sport or had a very strong passion for anything other than wrestling and bodybuilding.”

“I don't want to intimidate people. There's nothing bullyish about me, you know. If there's anybody who's anti-bully, it's me.”

“I'm not a big guy. I'm not a menacing guy. I'm not an intimidating guy. I may look that way, but just spend two seconds talking to me, and you know that's not who I am - not as a person, as a character. It's not who I intend to be.”

“I was actually sitting on stage at a press conference one day, and I totally lost touch with reality. I just thought to myself: 'Vin Diesel is sitting next to me, and Benicio Del Toro's on the other side. This is weird, man.'”

“I'm still learning and trying to become a better actor. I still feel insecurity.”

“For some reason, I struggle seeing myself as a leading man.”

“Drax isn't your average stereotypical soldier/warrior/musclehead. He actually has some depth. It was a character that I wanted to play, not only because I love acting so much, but also, I needed to play to get people to actually take me seriously as an actor and get away from the pro wrestling label.”

“I'm particular about the projects that I've chosen. Each one of them, I've taken a step up, like climbing a ladder. Before, it was baby-steps, up to 'Riddick.' Then 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.”

“My first acting lessons were Shakespeare. The first time I ever started working with a coach was doing scenes from 'Measure for Measure,' which were tough dramatic scenes. And then 'Taming of the Shrew,' which required comedic timing. And that's the kind of stuff I love.”

“I was a poor kid. I came from nothing. We didn't have any money; a lot of times we didn't have any food, and now, all of a sudden, I'm a superhero in a Marvel movie? Talk about the American dream, man - I'm living it.”

“Nothing can motivate me any more than I'm already motivated. It just can't happen. Me being motivated was never a factor. Never.”

“Know your lines; otherwise, have an open mind because you want to get lost in the moment. When you have talented actors and directors to work with, then it's pretty easy to do.”