Army of the Dead star Dave Bautista has told RTÉ Entertainment that one of the biggest challenges in his career is trying to persuade people in the film business that he is capable of dramatic roles.
The Guardians of the Galaxy favourite is given the opportunity to flex his acting muscles in writer-director Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, playing both action hero and estranged father - and he hopes it will lead to the industry seeing him in a different way.
"It's been my challenge all along, and it's been my mission all along to really prove myself as an actor," Bautista told RTÉ Entertainment. "It's been quite a chore, like, searching out those roles that would afford me the opportunity to really showcase that side of my performance.
"But I really lucked out because in this film, not only did I get a character who did have that kind of A to Z emotion range, but also I had a director who just gave me so much freedom to dive even deeper into it and make Scott Ward a richer character than he was on-page. It was just a huge opportunity for me.
"I hope that it will open people's eyes a little bit to see that I am capable of more than just being a big muscle head [laughs], or someone who can deliver kind of a comedic line."
Bautista said he is always trying to find "roles people wouldn't expect me in".
"A lot of people still have a stereotype of me - they still put me in that mould of wrestler-turned-actor," he explained. "I love my professional wrestling background, but I always say that I was a wrestler and now I'm an actor."
He stressed it was "never my mission to be a movie star".
"I really just wanted to be an actor. I can't find out how good of an actor I am until I'm offered those roles that are award-winning-type roles. And it's those roles for a person like myself that are just really hard to come by."
"I always look at it like this: the bigger name you make for yourself, the more people are willing to listen," Bautista concluded. "I want to leave this business feeling like I accomplished something."
Army of the Dead is streaming now on Netflix.
