Former wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has made clear in the past he want wants to be a serious, dramatic actor, and has now said his role as Glossu Rabban in Dune: Part Two has helped validate him as such.
In an interview for IGN Fan Fest, Bautista said a certain scene in Dune: Part Two was a "dream" for him to perform, which he said required complete confidence from director Denis Villeneuve. We won't say what this scene it doesn't premiere until March 1, but we'll share Bautista's spoiler-free thoughts.
"I think that is the one moment where you get to see the true essence of who Rabban is," Bautista said. "Most actors might look at that scene and be like, 'I don't want to do that'. And I read that scene and I was like, 'man, that's great.' Because that's when you get to see the layers of the character and that's when you get to see who Rabban really is.
"Any big, tough guy could play this big, menacing, ominous brute. But when you add the layers to him, especially in that moment, that's a performer's dream. That's my dream.
"And that's what I love: that I have that confidence from Denis where he knows that I could pull off that moment, because it just validates me. I've always said that I want to be an actor, I want to be a movie star. And it's moments like that where I get to say, I told you, you know? I get to prove my point."
Bautista's most famous role is of Drax in The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. While he does get serious in a handful of moments, Drax plays a comedic role for most of the films, leading Bautista to feel relief when his tenure came to an end in 2023.
"I'm so grateful for Drax. I love him," Bautista said at the time. "But there's a relief [that it's over]. It wasn't all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don't know if I want Drax to be my legacy—it's a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff."
IGN Fan Fest has featured myriad other big entertainment franchises (though it's hard to outdo Godzilla and Kong on size), revealing the trailer for the Borderlands movie, revealing the release date for Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Two, and debuting a first look at Roku's The Spiderwick Chronicles.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
