Sequels always are looking for ways to improve on their predecessor. Usually, the improvements can be seen on screen. Increased budgets lead to better effects, or larger casts lead to better actors in a franchise's ensemble. Sometimes, though, the improvements happen behind the scenes, as when Dave Bautista told us that the Marvel team working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 figured out a much quicker solution to getting his full-body makeup off. Only, while the process is quicker, it's still painfully awkward... and just plain painful. Bautista recently told us:
They stick me in a sauna at the end of the day. They literally have to melt it off of me, so that was a thing. Because during the test, they found out, it's so abrasive, they literally had to scrub it off of me. So after two days, my skin was like hamburger, so they came up with the sauna thing.
I wondered, while listening to poor Dave Bautista as he spoke with us in full Drax makeup, if he hates Chris Pratt for the sheer fact that Star-Lord doesn't have to doctor his appearance in any way to portray his Marvel hero. Looking around the Guardians cast, Bautista is joined in makeup misery by Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan, playing Gamora and Nebula, respectively. Even Michael Rooker hides his features beneath layers of makeup to play Yondu. Not Pratt. That dude skates.
Speaking of "joining" Dave Bautista, his hilarious story didn't get any better the longer he went on, because the sauna is the most private part of the entire process. Next, he told us how things get awkward in removing his body paint. Bautista said:
At the end of the day, [I get in the sauna] and three guys come in and attack me. Nothing weird there. [laughter] Four guys in a sauna, just... [laughter] being men. Yeah, and so, we talk about football and fighting a lot while we're in there.
That's the best. Next time you see Drax on screen, and you are marveling over the details that go into the makeup and body paint that help create Drax (and I've seen it up close, it's truly amazing), don't forget the team of dudes who stood in a sauna and scrubbed Dave Bautista's skin until it resembled hamburger meat so that he could go home to his loved ones looking like this:
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens in theaters on May 5. For a rundown of all of our coverage from the set of Marvel's latest, click here.
