Dave Bautista has addressed fans’ concerns regarding his significant body transformation for his newest film.
Most of us now recognize Bautista from his roles in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and 2021’s Dune.
However, Bautista originally rose to fame in the WWE wrestling world.
He began his wrestling career in 1999 and made his debut match before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2000.
After being promoted to WWE’s main roster, Bautista secured the World Heavyweight Championship in 2005. He continued wrestling until he left WWE in 2010.
The former wrestler made occasional returns to WWE before officially retiring in 2019.
The Sun reports that during his wrestling career, Bautista weighed around 290lbs and reached as high as 370lbs at his peak.
Currently, as an actor, the 55-year-old has reportedly reduced his weight to 240lbs following an intense diet regimen.
Fans were taken aback by Bautista’s body transformation when he appeared at the premiere of The Last Showgirl at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.
Amid all the discussions, Bautista has opened up about his recent weight loss.
During an interview with Chris Van Vliet on TikTok, Bautista explained: “I started trimming down for a particular reason. One, I started trimming down because I just got fat.
“I got really big for a role and it was uncomfortably big. I was like around 315 pounds and I put the weight on really fast.”
He further elaborated: “Looking back at it, I probably overdid it. I was probably a little too big, but at the time, I was just thinking, I gotta get big. And I put on an uncomfortable amount of weight, and it took me forever to shed it off.”
After losing the weight, Bautista noticed a significant improvement.
He added: “I noticed the more I trimmed down, the better I felt. And I also noticed the more I trimmed down, the better I looked on camera, the better I look next to other actors.
“I’ll probably lose a few more pounds. I’m basically killing myself to be this trim. I’m training hard. My calories are pretty restricted.”
Bautista underwent this extraordinary body transformation for his latest role as Joe Flood in The Killer’s Game.
The film premiered in cinemas across the US on Friday, September 13.