Is there something wrong with Dave Bautista? Fans have been clamoring for answers to his recent dramatic weight loss, but it turns out there was one specific thing that drove him to drop nearly 100 pounds.
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00:00Is there something wrong with Dave Bautista? Fans have been clamoring for answers to his
00:04recent dramatic weight loss, but it turns out there was one specific thing that drove
00:08him to drop nearly 100 pounds.
00:11When Dave Bautista showed up at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, the world sat
00:17up and took notice. Gone was the brawn and in was the thin, with Bautista walking the
00:21red carpet in a suit that might have fit one of his arms back when he was playing Drax
00:25the Destroyer.
00:26Metaphor.
00:27Sorta.
00:28But while Bautista spent the evening talking up his recent film, The Last Showgirl, the
00:34internet was more interested in his massive weight loss. One person tweeted,
00:38"'What happened? Hope this was for a role and he's not sick or something.'"
00:41Numerous celebrities have admitted to using the weight loss drug Ozempic, so there were
00:45some users on X who assumed that Bautista had joined that club. However, on the Insight
00:50with Chris Van Vliet podcast, the actor assured fans that he's perfectly healthy.
00:55I'm just a large human being. So at 6'4", 240 pounds, next to your typical actor, I
01:01look like a gorilla."
01:02Bautista credited exercise and cutting his daily caloric intake down to 2,500 for his
01:07body transformation, saying that making a change in his habits translated to how healthy
01:11he felt.
01:12The more I trimmed down, the better I felt. And I also noticed the more I trimmed down,
01:17the better I looked on camera."
01:18It turns out that there was at least one reason Bautista became interested in shedding weight.
01:23Before he slimmed down, he had to bulk up considerably for his role in the 2023 M. Night
01:27Shyamalan thriller Knock at the Cabin. While preparing for the film in 2022, he shared
01:33an Instagram photo showing off his progress, writing in the caption that he wanted to document
01:37how much weight he'd gained for the role. How much weight was that? On Insight, he told
01:42Chris Van Vliet that he got his weight up to 315 pounds. He had to achieve this feat
01:47quickly, which meant filling up on empty carbs.
01:50I had a very short period of time to put this weight on, and I packed it on with french
01:53fries and pancakes. And that's how I did it."
01:55While having an excuse to chow down on junk food every day might sound delightful, Bautista
02:00didn't enjoy the experience. He said in an interview with ET,
02:03"'I just don't know if I could do it again. It took a toll.'"
02:06Bautista told Van Vliet it was also extremely difficult to drop the weight he had put on,
02:11but he was up for the challenge. He's also spent plenty of time reminding reporters that
02:15he wasn't always the hulking presence fans have become used to seeing in movies. In fact,
02:20he was downright gangly as a teen.
02:22On Live with Kelly and Mark, Dave Bautista revealed that he discovered his natural talent
02:27for wrestling when he was in high school. Back then, he competed in the 185-pound weight
02:32class. He also told Muscle & Fitness,
02:34"'I was a really shy, skinny, gangly, unhealthy kid. Working out helped me build confidence.'
02:40The gym became a place where he could escape the harsh realities of his tough life and
02:44avoid spending time around people who weren't the best influence on him. Bautista found
02:48that he liked the results he was getting from spending a lot of time in the gym. Packing
02:52on the muscle also gave Bautista a physique that made it possible for him to dabble in
02:56professional bodybuilding after dropping out of high school.
02:59"'I wanted to just lift weights, and I thought I wanted to bodybuild, and 13 years later
03:03I had nothing to show for it. I was just big and jacked.'"
03:06However, he told Mercury News that he didn't like the egos in the world of bodybuilding.
03:11After that, he spent some time working at a gym as well as working as a bouncer while
03:14living in Washington, D.C.
03:16The next big step in Bautista's career came with a job offer from the WWE, where he made
03:21his debut at 33 years old. He was introduced to wrestling viewers as Deacon Bautista. At
03:27the time, he weighed in at about 325 pounds and stayed in that range for most of his wrestling
03:32career.
03:33Bautista decided to give acting a shot in 2010, and at the beginning, Hollywood saw
03:38him as a muscle-bound henchman thanks to his wrestling physique. Needless to say, it didn't
03:42lead to a lot of acting gigs. One of his early roles was in the direct-to-video flick The
03:47Scorpion King III – Battle for Redemption. He's described that transition time as a tough
03:52couple of years, but Hollywood finally recognized Dave Bautista's potential in 2013 when he
03:57was invited to join the MCU in Guardians of the Galaxy.
04:01Roles in the Bond flick Spectre and the cyberpunk thriller Blade Runner 2049 followed. While
04:07his swole pro-wrestler build probably helped convince casting directors that he had what
04:11it took to be an action star, Bautista quit working out like he did when he was portraying
04:15a heel in the ring. He told Men's Health,
04:17"...for film roles and life in general, I've switched to a more cardio-based workout routine."
04:22When it was time for Jax and the other Guardians to join the Avengers in 2019, Bautista decided
04:27to make another change. He enlisted the help of a personal trainer to help him mold his
04:31body into the shape of a real-life action figure. He told Men's Journal,
04:35For the first time in my film career, I was actually really concerned about looking better.
04:40I wanted to not only look big, but also look toned.
04:43Kick names. Take ass.
04:45Yeah, that's right."
04:46Basically, what he wanted was a broad, triangle-shaped torso and killer quads. He also adopted a
04:52high-protein diet, which for him meant eating a lot of poultry and eggs.
04:56With his new look, Bautista is clearly embarking on a new stage in his career. His slimmed-down
05:00physique is apparent in his new film, The Killers Game, and told Entertainment Weekly
05:05his next big goal is to direct a movie. He's achieved everything else he set his mind to,
05:10so hopefully fans will stop worrying about his recent look and start looking forward
05:14to what he comes up with next.