As far as his acting career is concerned, Dave Bautista currently sits in a really great position. Last year he completely blew audiences away with his turn as Drax The Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, suddenly putting him on everybody’s map as a star to watch. Because of this, you might think that he would have had some hesitation taking on what is an almost completely silent role in the new James Bond film, Spectre, but the reality is that he was so jazzed about becoming a classic henchmen character that he really didn’t care.
I had the pleasure of sitting down one-on-one with Dave Bautista during a special Spectre press event in Mexico City this past weekend, and it was during this chat that we talked about the practically dialogue-free nature of his part as Mr. Hinx. I asked the actor if there was any hesitation on his part about taking on a near-silent role, but he explained why it was never an issue:
No, no hesitation. When I first started asking Sam [Mendes] about the character, I made the connection immediately. I knew what he was looking for, and I really knew the tone of the movie he was looking for because I was a fan of Skyfall. And I knew where he was headed – I knew he was really tapping into that nostalgic, classic feel. And I was honored, because they haven’t done this character since the ‘80s. Jaws was the last guy to play this silent type henchmen.
What’s actually humorous about the situation is that while Dave Bautista had no hesitations about the dialogue-less part, director Sam Mendes wasn’t always entirely convinced that would be the case. Evidently when he was first meeting with his would-be star he felt it necessary to bring the hard sell – even though it ultimately wasn’t actually necessary:
I loved it, and I turned into a little kid right off the bat. I was like, ‘Stop!’ because I felt like [Sam Mendes] was trying to sell me the role. Not necessary, man! And that was the last thing I said to him when I left that meeting. I said, ‘Just to be clear, I want to be a part of this. I want this role.’ Because I felt like he was a little apprehensive telling me about the role, because I know that he thought – because we talked about it – where I was in my career, if I would take a role that didn’t have any dialogue. But I just made the connection right off the bat, and I was just tickled like a little kid. ‘Hell yeah, man! I want this role!’
You can watch Dave Bautista talk about his Spectre role in the video below:
To be 100% honest, Mr. Hinx is actually my favorite part of Spectre, and while I’m hesitant to fully explain why here, you will get it when you see the film for yourself. That opportunity is coming soon, as the new James Bond film will be in theaters this Friday, November 6th.
