Dave Bautista was back on the red carpet and in good company to boot as he attended a special screening of new film The Killer’s Game in Los Angeles on Monday evening.
The wrestler turned actor was joined by co-star Sofia Boutella at Regal L.A Live after surprising fans with his remarkable body transformation at the Toronto Film Festival over the weekend.
Bautista, 55, has lost more than four-stone during a two-year period that began shortly after he finished work on M. Night Shyamalan thriller Knock On The Cabin in 2022.
Promoting his latest film, in which he plays a veteran assassin, the American star looked notably slimmer in a patterned maroon suit as he posed for photographs alongside Boutella, 42.
Joining her co-star, the Algerian actress embraced a similar colour scheme by opting for a form-fitting velvet evening dress in a deep shade of purple.
Dave Bautista was joined by co-star Sofia Boutella as he attended a special screening of new film The Killer’s Game in Los Angeles on Monday evening
He’s famed for his hulking, muscular physique, but Dave Bautista has stunned fans after slimming down for his new role
Bautista recently admitted he is lighter now than he was during his early SmackDown! wrestling days, when he competed under the name Deacon Batista.
‘I’m getting super trimmed, this is probably the lightest I’ve been since I was 19 years old,’ he told YouTuber Chris Van Vliet.
‘The heaviest I’ve ever been is 370lbs (26st). When I started Deacon, I was about 325lbs (23st),’ he said.
‘Throughout most of my wrestling career I was about 290lbs (21st). Now I’m about 240lbs (17st).
‘And I went a year and a half ago for Knock at the Cabin, I went 315lbs (23st). And that’s when the nightmare started.’
Bautista previously shared an astonishing throwback snap to when he was 16 years old and had none of the tattoos that now cover his body.
In his 30s, he embarked on a successful career in pro wrestling and MMA, before becoming a movie star at age 45 in Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Over the course of his adult life, his arms and torso gradually became blanketed with tattoos, including the Greek and Philippine flags in honor of his heritage.
The actor appeared to be in high spirits as she posed for photos with actress Chloe Coleman outside Regal L.A Live on Monday night
Promoting his latest film, in which he plays a veteran assassin, the American star looked notably slimmer in a patterned maroon suit as he rubbed shoulders with Boutella
Pom Klementieff (left) was also in attendance with Bautista (right) during Monday’s screening in Los Angeles
Boutella opted for smoky make-up that accentuated her features, while her fringed hair was swept across one shoulder
Bautista (left) reunited with Terry Crews (right) as they celebrated the launch of their new film
But in the flashback he posted to Instagram this week, he stood in a swimsuit in front of an ocean view, revealing he had no body art at the time.
The picture was taken near the end of a rough childhood blighted by poverty and crime – during which he himself got arrested in his early teens.
Bautista experienced a difficult upbringing that included stints in the more dangerous neighborhoods in and around Washington, DC.
When he was a little boy, a corpse was discovered on his front lawn and he watched a shooting victim die in the street in front of his home.
He, his sister, and some of the other children in the neighborhood were ‘all standing around looking at this poor guy who was dying,’ Dave recalled later in his memoirs. ‘I think some of us were even telling jokes.’
Bautista and Boutella inevitably stole the spotlight during their joint appearance at the event
Lizzie Dean (left) and Bella Bernhardt (right) greeted onlookers before making their way inside the Los Angeles venue
Klementieff and Bautista shared a joke as they reunited on the red carpet ahead of Monday’s screening in Los Angeles
Tia Carrere (left) and Brad Podray (right) were also among the guests at Regal L.A Live
(L-R) J.J. Perry, Terry Crews, Lucy Cork, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, George Somner, and Marko Zaror
Bautista previously shared an astonishing throwback snap to when he was 16 years old and had none of the tattoos that now cover his body
He experienced a difficult upbringing that included stints in the more dangerous neighborhoods in and around Washington, DC; pictured in recent years on Instagram
The actor confessed: ‘By the time I was 13, I started getting in a lot more trouble for skipping school.
‘I also got arrested for petty stuff. I’d get detention or juvenile hall, but the punishment wasn’t severe; I never spent more than a day in jail.’
Bautista insisted he ‘wasn’t stealing or breaking the law to get back at anyone or because I was mad or anything like that. I was stealing because all my friends were doing it. It was no big deal. It just wasn’t out of the norm. It was what you did.’
He added: ‘It wasn’t that I was stealing cars or doing dope or anything really, really bad. But I was definitely a thug, and everyone was afraid of where I was headed.’
