Perhaps the most unexpected pleasure of Guardians of the Galaxy was the performance of former pro wrestler Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. Which is a shame, because I really enjoyed making fun of the fact that a big tough wrestler named “Batista” (GRRR, WRESTLING!) was really a dude named “Dave Bautista.” He’s like Patton Oswalt’s bit about Burbank come to life. I like to think he was a dentist from the East Coast who got a wild hair up his ass to become a pro wrestler. Anyway, Latino Review now reports that Diamond Dave has been cast as a henchman in Bond 24, which seems like a reasonable thing to have happened.
This was the casting notice for the part:
Hinx (Male, 30 – 45)
Ideally over 6′ 2″. Hinx is the main henchman/assassin. We are looking for an imposing extremely physically fit actor. He has several fights with Bond and will have to have stunt training. He has to drive. We are looking for someone very unusual, possibly from a sports background.
“Hinx” sounds like something you’d name a kitty cat, but other than that, it sounds like a great part for a husky wrestler guy. The only thing is, part of what was so great about Drax is that he wasn’t the grimacing tough guy you’d expect Batista to be playing. He was this sensitive soul who was uncomfortable with his feelings and could only express them in overly clinical vernacular. Actually playing the grimacing tough guy sounds like a step backwards. But then, James Bond is nothing if not a celebration of the cheesy. It’s hard to be anything else when you have to try to make the same movie 24 times.
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