Top 8 Dave Bautista Quotes

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.

People look at me, and they have a certain perception, and they slap a label on me. The guy you saw in a wrestling ring is not who I am.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

For some reason, I'm the guy people love to hate, which I think is weird. People who know me find that very strange, but for some reason, I am. I don't mind being that guy - I have fun with it.