Dave Bautista always shoots from the hip. The genial 52-year-old former wrestler’s truth meter hasn’t been warped one bit by his success – he is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood after playing a villain in James Bond movie Spectre and the alien Drax the Destroyer in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films – even when it comes to selling his new movie, Zack Snyder’s zombie heist thriller Army of the Dead . “I guess I’m like a half-a**ed horror fan,” he shrugs. “I don’t like gore. I’m not a slasher guy. I like vampire films. Vampire films like Blade . And I like werewolves and Frankenstein. That’s kind of the stuff I grew up on.” What about zombies? “I enjoy the hell out of The Walking Dead . It’s one of my favourite TV shows ever – I’m a diehard fan. But it wasn’t a dream of mine to be in a zombie film.” He chuckles at how off-message he sounds. “Believe me there’s a sense of guilt when I say that … but I never thought much about the appeal of zombies.” Nevertheless, Bautista was excited at the opportunity to front a film by Snyder, the A-list director behind superhero spectaculars Watchmen , Justice League and Man of Steel , and see what he’d do. “I definitely feel like if Zack had a calling,” he adds, “it would be to make zombie films.” One of Snyder’s most visceral films was his earlier attempt at the genre – his 2004 feature debut that refashioned George Romero’s zombie masterpiece Dawn of the Dead , and featured fast-moving, super-terrifying flesh-eaters. “The way he looks at zombies, they’re basically people who are just stripped away from their humanity,” explains Bautista. “And they’re the worst versions of humans, feeding off of other humans. They’re just as evil as you can be.” Army of the Dead is a more irreverent take on the genre. With Las Vegas now walled off after a zombie outbreak, Bautista plays a former burger chef, Scott Ward, who is hired to bust into the quarantine zone and retrieve US$200 million from a casino vault before the city is nuked. It’s an evocative take on America’s gambling paradise (especially with a zombie tiger on the prowl). Army of the Dead review: Zack Snyder’s zombie heist thriller for Netflix “This film just doesn’t work as well without Vegas as the backdrop,” reasons Bautista. “Vegas is totally another character in this film.” Intriguingly, the actor isn’t so taken by the physical action in this, or any other movie he’s done. “For me, it couldn’t be any more boring. I just don’t get excited about that. I paid my dues with action in the wrestling ring. And I’d just as soon sit down and have a tear-jerking scene than I would have a fight scene. It’s just not my thing. But I can do it. “ I’m lucky that way, I’m fortunate that way, where I’m just a very physical person and that a lot of that stuff does come naturally to me.” After working as a bouncer in Washington, where he grew up, Bautista’s professional wrestling career began in 1999, just as he turned 30. A six-time world champion, he was still in the sport when he made the transition to acting – though it was anything but easy. “I couldn’t even get auditions. People just did not want to see me; they labelled me and stereotyped me. And I was just stuck with that stigma of being a professional wrestler. People did not want to take me seriously as an actor,” he says. Bautista’s early roles traded on his physique, but of late it’s been his acting muscles he’s been flexing. His Guardians of the Galaxy character showed a talent for deadpan humour, and last week it was announced he’d signed on for Knives Out 2 . The sequel to Rian Johnson’s hit murder-mystery caper will reunite Bautista with his 007 co-star Daniel Craig. “I’m psyched! But at this point, I’m a little nervous, a little intimidated,” he admits. “The cast on the first film was so strong, it’s almost gonna be like a who’s who in Hollywood.” Arguably, he’s doing himself a disservice. He’s already acted opposite the likes of Jodie Foster (in Hotel Artemis ) and Ryan Gosling ( Blade Runner 2049 ), making his presence vividly felt. “There’s always moments where I’m like, ‘How did I get here?’ I was just in a professional wrestling ring and now I’m on stage with all these actors,” he says. “I want to feel comfortable there. I want to feel like they’re comfortable having me there. I want to feel like I deserve to be there.” Likewise, being directed by the likes of Johnson and Spectre ’s Sam Mendes means the world to him. “I don’t care about accolades. I don’t care about awards. I gauge myself by the people I’m working with,” Bautista says. When Denis Villeneuve, who directed him in Blade Runner 2049 , hired him again to play the sadistic Glossu Rabban in his upcoming epic sci-fi Dune , Bautista was overcome with emotion. “That’s a validation that you can’t put a price on,” he says. “It justifies me leaving wrestling to pursue acting.” It proved a canny decision – especially with Bautista having become an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). After steering Drax through Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame , he’s already dropped hints that he’ll be appearing in Thor: Love and Thunder , which is currently shooting, before concluding his character’s storyline in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 , due to be filmed next year. “I’m extremely looking forward to wrapping it up,” he says. “For so long, we didn’t know what was going on with it,” the actor says. He’s referring to the fact that director James Gunn was, briefly, dropped by Disney after some less-than-politically-correct tweets from his past resurfaced. Fortunately, the studio saw sense and rehired him. “I’m a person who really needs closure,” says Bautista. “And I needed to close out this journey, [or] my career wouldn’t feel complete. I’d have an emptiness in my heart if I weren’t able to close out this journey with my friends who I started it with. It really launched my career. I think it changed everybody’s life.” As one chapter closes, another opens – with Bautista desperate to direct within the next few years. “Even if I have to fork money out of my own pocket to pay for it,” he grins. “It’s just something that’s on my bucket list.” Just don’t expect him to sign up to the MCU. “If you gave me a big Marvel film, it just wouldn’t happen. Like I wouldn’t even feel comfortable taking a job like that. It’d just be so far over my head. I’m not a person who can create universes.” What does he prefer? “I like contained drama … relationships … storytelling.” And no zombies. Army of the Dead will start streaming on Netflix on May 21. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook