WWE legend Dave Bautista opened up about the weight loss transformation his fans are so transfixed by.
He noted that he had to gain weight to look like ‘a great big guy’ and not ‘to look like a powerlifter’ for the 2023 M. Night Shyamalan film Knock at the Cabin.
He had only a short period of time to gain the weight for the role and did so by indulging in french fries and pancakes but once shooting was over, he was ready to trim down.
‘I started trimming down for a particular reason. One, I started trimming down because I just got fat,’ Bautista said in an interview with Chris Van Vliet on TikTok.
‘I got really big for a role and it was uncomfortably big… I got really big. I was like around 315 pounds and I put the weight on really fast,’ Dave – who is the lightest he’s been since the age of 19 – explained.
WWE legend Dave Bautista opened up about the weight loss transformation his fans are so transfixed by, pictured at the premiere of The Killer’s Game in September 2024
‘Looking back at it, I probably over did it,’ Bautista said. ‘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.’
And when he started losing weight, which he did through the art of ju-jitsu, he felt better, much better in fact.
‘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,’ he said.
‘People say, “God, you’re skinny,”‘ he continued. ‘I’ve even seen online, some people worried about my health.
‘And when I say it out loud, “I’m 6’4″ 240 pounds,” which sounds like I’m a big person. People have seen me so much bigger over the years that they think I’m like anorexic, but I’m still just a large human being next to your typical actor. It looks like a gorilla and it’s distracting.’
‘I’ll probably lose a few more pounds. I’m basically killing myself to be this trim,’ Bautista admitted. ‘I’m training hard. My calories are pretty restricted.’
Bautista revealed that he’s currently eating, ‘Maybe 2500 calories a day.’
‘For me, it’s like nothing. I’m just not eating much. I’m not starving or anything,” he continued, adding that he does intermittent fasting.
‘I haven’t eaten yet. It’s almost 1 o’clock. And then I typically don’t eat like three, four hours before I go to bed.’
The truth is, Dave has lost so much weight that he looks like an entirely different person than he was at the height of his wrestling days – or from his turn as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy.
The WWE legend retired from his wrestling career in 2019 and decided to focus on his acting career and losing weight so as to avoid being typecast in roles similar to Drax the Destroyer.
He adjusted his diet but found that wasn’t working well on its own, so he took up jiu-jitsu.
He noted that he had to gain weight to look like ‘a great big guy’ and not ‘to look like a powerlifter’ for the 2023 M. Night Shyamalan film Knock at the Cabin, seen here in 2005
He had only a short period of time to gain the weight for the role and did so by indulging in french fries and pancakes but once shooting was over, he was ready to trim down, seen here in 2024
‘I started trimming down for a particular reason. One, I started trimming down because I just got fat,’ Bautista said in an interview with Chris Van Vliet on TikTok. Pictured here in 2024
‘I got really big for a role and it was uncomfortably big… I got really big. I was like around 315 pounds and I put the weight on really fast,’ Dave explained, seen here in 2024
‘It’s the way I lose weight,’ Bautista explained on Live with Kelly and Mark earlier this summer.
‘I was struggling to lose the weight, so I brought a trainer — my buddy Jason Manly — over to Budapest with me while I was filming Dune,’ he said.
He added that the duo ‘did nothing but grapple, like for hours. And so I started shedding the weight off and I figured I’ll just stick with it so I’ll get my brown belt.’
Bautista admitted that his cardio training came at a cost. ‘I was trimming down, and I’ve sacrificed a lot of muscle. But I’m okay with it, because I just feel more comfortable,’ he told Kelly Ripa.
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