Dave Bautista relieved as Drax role in Guardians of the Galaxy ends

The professional wrestler turned actor is "grateful" to have played the character in the popular Marvel films but says he doesn't want it to be his "legacy".

Volume 3 hits cinemas in May and is expected to be the last in the series.

"It wasn't all pleasant. It was hard playing that role," he said in an interview with GQ Magazine.

Bautista stars as the dopey, often socially unaware character alongside Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel in the movie.

He said the gruelling make-up process to transform him into the reformed intergalactic criminal "was beating me down".

"And I just don't know if I want Drax to be my legacy - it's a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff."

Before acting, Dave enjoyed a successful career with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), gaining fame under his ring name Batista.

He also spoke about comparisons with Dwayne Johnson, aka the Rock - arguably the most successful wrestler turned actor.

He said it was never his intention to imitate The Rock, but said he does "just want to be… a respected actor".

"I'm nervous about things. But I can force myself to do things that make me uncomfortable, because I know I'm not going to get anywhere if I don't.

"I may cringe after the fact, but I'm not going to let that fear hold me back," he told the US magazine.

Dave isn't alone in having a rather more bleak look back at a role that's given him and his fans so much.

Moving on

Robert Pattinson received lots of love for his career-making role as vampire Edward Cullen in Twilight.

But he said it was "weird being part of that, representing something you don't particularly like".

James Bond himself - Daniel Craig - said in an interview after Spectre's 2015 release that he wanted to "move on" and would only do another 007 "for the money".

And he got it. Or at least, according to US showbiz mag Variety, which claimed he was paid $25m for his final Bond outing in No Time to Die.

Miley Cyrus, who starred as Hannah Montana, said she did not have "the best of both worlds".

"That was drilled into my head, like without being Hannah Montana no one cares about you."

Freelance film critic Katie Smith-Wong says often actors can look back differently on their previous roles.

She says creative differences, wanting to avoid being typecast or elements of their character's development "they didn't agree with".

"I think he [Dave Bautista] wants to break the mould," says Katie.

It's hard to know the "full story, the true story" around his comments about Drax, but it "could be a number of things", says Katie.

One could be "not having the kind of material that would help establish his character as more than just comic relief, which is kind of what Drax is," she says.

"Because he had an interesting backstory that was teased in the first Guardian film. So that was never fully explored."

She describes this as "a window" for Bautista to "explore new opportunities".

And his relief might be the ability to do that while no longer "feeling obligated to Marvel to stay in that role," Katie says.

Katie is also a Marvel fan and describes the franchise as one "that you grow up with and become emotionally invested in".

But she says the character of Drax is different to other notable names.

"Drax is one of those characters that fans can enjoy, but it's not as big an emotional investment as compared to Iron Man or Captain America."

And she feels the comments will help "build interest" in the film and Drax's future before the film comes out.

"What will be interesting is how his departure will affect the Guardians, as well as the future films."

"Will the comic relief go towards other characters, or was this a missed opportunity to elevate his history?"

"What we've learned from the MCU is that things can happen in the most unexpected of ways," she adds.

-bbc