Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - Ep 25: Dave Bautista

Episode Date: September 25, 2018

Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, WWE, Final Score) discusses his tough childhood - being raised by a single lesbian, what it was like to not have a father in his life, and seeing a dead body in his front yard. Dave opens up about the day that he made a conscious decision to change his life, his career in the WWE, and landing the role as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Hi, Rob Hollis. Hi, Michael Rosenbaum. Good to see, my friend. Always a treat. Big guest. When I say big, I actually mean big. Literally and figuratively.

Yes. I mean, physically, this guy is a presence. Yeah, you guys took your shirts off and tried to flex. Well, I took my shirt off. Oh, yeah. He had his on, but... I actually took my shirt off. His arm was the size of your body.

Dude, his torso is bigger than my entire body. This guy is Dave Batista. He was a professional. wrestler you you know him in his wrestling days uh he talks about everything how we met which i'm surprised that he remembered well yeah and he did an episode of smallville and uh he did guardians with me and just a amazing guy some of these stories that he tells like he hasn't told one of these stories which you'll hear which was just like holy shit he like got in a fight in a fist fight at fud ruckers cheese and rice man that was some intense stuff he has got a heart of gold

he looks out for his friends he could kick your ass my ass for sure. I think you're going to love this interview. This is Dave Batista. Inside of You're listening to Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum was not recorded in front of a live studio audience. You know, we play a little music here. We have a band we called Shit Sandwich. It became the sandwich because I don't think people wanted to Book us. And then they heard us and they said, yeah, you should have just kept the title. It was fitting.

But we play like, you know, I'm a big 70s fan. I grew up in Southern Indiana, so we like a little Southern rock mixed in with 80s, a little taste of the wallflowers in the 90s, Eagles-esque. Sure. Where are you from in Southern? I grew up in Southern Indiana. Which part? Evansville.

Did you ever wrestle in Evansville? Hell yeah. Robert Stadium? Yeah, I don't know. That was the big place. Right now they have the Honda. I don't remember. I was there more at smaller, like high schools and stuff when I.

Because I did Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky. Was that pretty intense? Yeah, yeah, it was. It was. But they, you know, they paid me to be there. It was like I had a job to work out. How old were you? 30.

That's a pretty good job. Wrestling making money? Yeah. I was bouncing before that. I was like right when I got into wrestling, they paid me to go to train there. I was there for two years. Did you like Indiana? Yeah, I did.

You did? Yeah. Why'd you hate it? No, I loved it. I loved it. I was kind of a nerd, though, growing up. I wasn't popular. Were you popular?

No, no, I think I could have been. What is that? I think we all could have been. Well, I think I was just such an introvert. You know, I was such an introvert and I was so socially awkward that I just never, I never applied myself to being a popular. Really? No, I was really athletic. I was good at sports.

I just, uh... Just quiet? I just always felt out of place, man. I just never felt like I fit in, so I wasn't that type of kid. Are you still that guy? Yeah, I'm still that guy. Do you still feel that in a way? Yeah, no, not in a way, completely.

Well, why is that? Because I feel the same way where people are like, oh, you're so confident. You go out, you could talk to anybody, but there's some weird thing where I feel like I have to sort of be the center of attention sometimes because then I'll be accepted. Right. Huh. I don't feel that way at all. So you just go in the room and do the opposite.

I don't like being the center of attention at all. You don't like being the center of attention. No at all. Well, I will tell you this. You're one of the nicest guys I've ever met. And looking at you, I'm sure you heard this, but like, you look at this. Jonathan, your friend over there who's known you since the kid, was he always nice? You could just nod.

You're not mired. Yeah? Always a nice guy. Jonathan wouldn't hang out with an asshole this long. But, you know, you're chatted up. You're a big dude. You could probably, I've read shit about you. You could easily hurt someone if you needed to.

You have when you needed to. I read that too. But, you know, how do we meet? Well, we met in a true religion store. That's the first time we met because I came up and said, hey. Yeah, that's right. You're Michael Rose. You played Lexington.

When was that? It was forever ago. It was before I got in acting. It was like, I think I might have still been wrestling, but I saw you. And I was excited to see you. And I was, like, awkwardly introduced myself and said I was, you know, a fan. And I was cool as shit. It also did an episode of Smallville, but we didn't have any scenes ago.

It was a very small part for me. It was actually one of my first acting gigs. I wasn't, I didn't, I just wanted to be there because it was Superman related. You love Superman? Yeah, and I wasn't, because at that time, I wasn't at all interested in acting. I just wanted to wrestle. And they said, what did you do this part? And I said, hell yeah.

And I basically went and just played myself. I played a professional wrestler who was disguised as an alien. That's pretty much what the character was. And you loved it. I loved being on the show I didn't love I wasn't in love with acting at that point

I just I just wasn't interested to be honest Well go back for a second Because it was years later I recently It was a couple months ago We were at a convention And some woman came up to me and goes

Hey who's working at the convention Goes hey Dave Batista Would like to say hello to you And I go Nah he's probably I know we've met But I'm like you know I don't really

It's got to be Michael Rooker That he worked with It's got to be Rooker He's not It's a mistake Rook was here. I hope they're not. He doesn't want to see Jew Rosenbaum.

I hope they're not mistaking me for Rooker. Because there's nothing more embarrassing than going up to you and then going, uh, there's been a problem. Mistake here. You're not Rooker. And so I said it a few times. She goes, no.

He made it clear. He wants to, and I went back and you were at this little booth privately signing. You just had gotten there and you go, hey, man, I just, I just wanted to say hello. I heard you were here. Yeah. And I just felt like immediately like, God, fucking I love this guy.

What a, who does that? That's so weird to me. that you wouldn't think that I was, like, I wanted to say hello to you. I knew you were there and we were getting ready to leave. And I was like, I didn't want to leave without saying a little bit. But I think that's such a beautiful thing. Thanks, man.

I appreciate it. I mean, I immediately came home and I told my friends like, dude, I mean, he didn't have to do. There's a lot of actors who I've met, who I've seen when I said, hey, could you get Michael Rosenbaum over here? I'd love to say hello to him. They just don't do that in Hollywood. No.

Well, I don't live in Hollywood. You live? What do you live? I live in Tampa, Florida. Well, there you go. I'm far removed from how. I never felt comfortable out here. I always felt like, I don't know,

it always felt like I was working out here, you know, and I don't like to feel like that. I like to be a normal person. I like to live a normal life. What do you notice about when you're here? What's the feeling? Do you have a certain feeling of like, this is bullshit.

I'm going from meeting to meeting. I'm not myself. How do you? No, I'm always myself. I don't put on an air for anybody. I always try to be myself. I, uh, but I always feel like I'm, um, I feel like I'm, I'm being judged. I also, also feel like I, when I talk to people, it's not, and you know, it's not your,

you know, how you, how are you doing? It's, it's, it's, so what are you doing? What are you into now? What's next? That's always what it is, man. I don't want to, I don't want to, I just want to be like, that. That's the thing, whether it's an agent or it's someone, what are you up to now? What are you working on? And it feels so disingenuous. It feels like, and almost you feel compelled for a long time I felt compelled to just be like, oh, I got this movie coming out and I got this because if you don't, then you're nobody. But that's not how it really is. You have to be comfortable with yourself.

So I understand what you're talking about. But I sort of react where now people say, hey, what are you up to? And say, hey, I'm just enjoying life. Yeah. Even if I got stuff going on, I just say, hey, I'm just enjoying life. I'm trying to find my purpose. I'm trying to be happy. I'm trying to live.

Yeah. I don't find it easy to talk about myself. I'm not a self-promoting person. Like, I've even, I've tried to intentionally make more of an effort to be self-promoting on my social media, because I'm just not good at it. I'm not even, I'm not good at selfie-taking. But that's who you are. But I want, you know, I want to, I want to grow.

I want to, I want to take a step up. I want to move up in this industry, too. So I also, I try to make an effort, but it is against my instincts. You know, what's funny is as you talk, since this podcast, I don't know if you noticed, but my energy has sort of gotten, I'm not going to say, lower, but in a good way, I've gotten more comfortable. You put me at ease a little bit with your disposition, my friend. Thank you.

You're just like, you're real. And sometimes I, you know, I feel like, oh, I got to talk to somebody. You know, I have an energy. I'm a monotone person. I don't think I am. No, no. Dave, would you say I'm not that guy, Jonathan? No, you're definitely, you're an energetic person.

I think I am. It's good. It feels good. It's a good energy. It's a positive energy. So we're balancing each other. Yeah. You with your monotone, me with my,

my high energy. Yeah, even like likewise, the first time we met, you didn't know me from anybody and you just were very, like, nice and pleasant. And you remembered that. I remembered that. It was first impressions to me are everything. Everything. Yeah.

And then it's just, you know, it's one of those things, man. When you, at that point, I was just a fan coming up to say hello. And people, I really think you can judge a person by the way they treat their fans. I think you judge a person by the way they treat everyone. Yeah, true. And, you know, it's for me, it's like my parents may not have been the best parents. But I always had respect when I met anybody. My dad go, oh, my God, you'd flirt with the dude at the cashier at Burger King.

I was like, hey, man, how's your day? Yeah. Just that's kind of who I am. That's a very true statement. But at the same time, you have to look at people who have been in that spotlight, and they start to change. They start to get jaded, and they start to treat the fans differently. You know, they kind of shut them out a little bit, and I don't like that.

Do you see that? I see it all the time. And how does it make it? People that you work with, people that you work closely with, people that you probably don't even want to mention on this podcast, you've seen it and just shake your head, go, fuck. Yeah, and I have to say that on very few occasions, so I've been, I'm very lucky. I've had a lot of very great experiences with great people in this industry, and I've

had only a few, really dealt with a really, a few bad eggs. Have you ever, by the way, Dave Batista, thanks for allowing me to be inside of you today. I almost forgot to say that. That's how we do. That's what we roll, Rob. You think you were waiting for it, weren't you? It was. That's kind of a thing.

We're not even recording yet. Oh, but now we're recording. So, Dave, none of that was recorded. You talk about just how you respect people and how, and I read somewhere where you really respected your parents because they worked really hard and... My mother. Your mother, you respected. Yeah.

My father has not been a part of my life. And I don't want to get on, you know, a negative, he's never been a part of my life. He's never been supportive of me. But my mother, on the other hand, has always been, you know, she has been, man. She's the reason I am who I am. My mother is a person of very high standards, high dignity. She's a very gracious person. She's a very giving person.

It's a very liberal, free-thinking person. It always, it's a conversation for me. Some people find it out, but they, you know, they look at me and see that I'm, you know, a big athletic person. But I was raised by a single lesbian. You know, it took a single lesbian to make a man. man. Wow. You know, she is, but she's a very strong woman. I just love her and respect her. I mean, how important is it, and you could go on about that? It's like, you know, people in their lives, if you don't have a role model, you don't have somebody to look up to, you know, you're a product of your own

environment. I believe that. I believe like, you know, nurture over nature in a lot of ways. I mean, you're dealt with certain things biologically, but I also think that with good parenting, with good role models, with good people around you, they kind of make you who you are. Definitely. I believe that as well as people can become products of their environment good or bad because you had a tough childhood yeah yeah and i and again my mom was always that she was that beacon she was that uh she was the angel on my shoulder you know telling me and sometimes you know beating me into heading the right direction yeah she was she was not afraid to get physical and and she knew sometimes she had to were you a big guy then i was a big big kid i was bigger than my mom when i was

probably 12 years old. Like I said, my mom, you know, single mom, she was working most of the time. And we grew up in the ghetto. She were running in the streets. And DC, back and forth between D.C. and San Francisco. But how does she do that? How does she work and then able to get your shit together? Exactly. What were you doing at that age? What trouble were you getting into? I was stealing and fighting and going out in the middle of the night, just sneaking out, running in San Francisco running with gangs. We were around a lot of violence. Yeah, even to when I was a teenager, I was still getting a lot of trouble.

A lot of fights. I fought a lot when I was young. Well, had that get started? Because you were big and people would start fights with you? No, you know, I don't know. I think a lot of times you just, you're, when you're in the wrong environment, a bad environment, you're around, you know, other people that are also in bad environment. There's nothing positive going on, man.

There's nothing to do. There's no outlet. looking for something to do something to get into and dad wasn't there my dad wasn't there ever and we just you know you know young and the wrong environment i mean don't you think that had a lot to do with it like he sort of you felt you felt abandoned and you had a lot of anger towards that you know maybe it's just weird here's the thing i i don't know if i did and the reason why is because i don't really know what it ever felt like to have a dad so it's not like he was there and then he wasn't. Right. You know, so I didn't miss it. You know, I just, I didn't have, but I definitely

didn't have that guidance. And I know, I don't know exactly what that guidance would have been. I don't know how the situation would have been different, you know, if it would have been different with my parents together. But it just wasn't possible for them to be together. You know, my mom's a lesbian. She was in love with a woman, and that's just the way that went. She didn't like my dad. He wasn't a good father. So they just went their separate ways. And that was actually how my mom ended up in San Francisco. She said she wanted to get as far away from my father as she could. Jesus.

Well, she did it, right? Yeah. And so anyway, that was it. I mean, did he flip out when she told him she was a lesbian? No, no, no. No, it was a very, uh, no, they were, you know, it was one of those things. They had, I don't think they got, they weren't together my whole life. I remember them trying to make it work like one time, which lasted like a couple months.

And other than that, they didn't really get a divorce until, like, well into the 80s. Really? Because they never had that type of falling out. Right, right, right. And they really only got a divorce because my dad wanted to get remarried. So otherwise. So they'd still be married. Yeah, you still be married.

Jesus Christ. And they actually still have, you know, they have a very functional relationship. They still get along with each other. But you won't talk to him. No, just because, you know, for a lot of different reasons. You know, and I think the reason I really stopped talking to him just kind of cut him out of My life is because he wasn't a good father to me, which bothered me a little bit. But what really bothered me the most was that he didn't even try to be a good grandfather to my children.

And when he wasn't there for them, I just like this guy. No, I have, I have more, actually. You have more now? Yeah, yeah. That's a whole different story, too. But you have enough. My one daughter, yeah, she's a troubled child. Well, she's not a child anymore.

She's your own woman. Yeah, but she started young and she's been having kids. in a strange relationship, so. Right, you have a 26-year-old, 28-year-old? Yeah, 27. That's good. That's another story. Actually, no, I apologize.

She's 28 now. 28. Yeah. So, I mean, I've read so much shit. Like, I mean, here you are as a teenager getting in fights, stealing, no guidance, your mother trying to give you whatever she can. She's working her ass off. People died in your front lawn.

Is this true? Well, it wasn't technically our front lawn, so there was an alley right next to our house, and this guy got killed. right in the alley so he was kind of sitting there on the gate you saw him everybody did it was like the whole neighborhood was there seeing this guy i mean that's gotta be this what does that feel like i mean i guess for a tough kid for me i would have shit my pants because i didn't see that shit when i was growing up you know it's it's it's weird my mother and i have completely different uh recollections of it and i don't remember my mom my mom says that she was freaked out

but she was more freaked out that we weren't bothered by it we were it was kind of late really late at night and we because everybody was outside had come outside and was gathered around this we took advantage and went out and played with our friends at night because we thought it was cool to be out at night playing with our friends and we weren't at all bothered by this dead guy

next to our house and that was soon after that my mom packed us up and we took off we headed to San Francisco my neighborhood would have shut the fuck down Dave no it just I mean just for it just you see you saw stuff with that you saw so much so many different things it didn't shock you that much.

No, it didn't. You know, it was a lot of violence at the time. There was a lot of, D.C. was a very violent city. As far as I can remember up until the, even into the 90s, it was very violent. It was not uncommon to wake up and, you know, somebody's been shot, somebody's been killed over their shoes. Did you feel you had a death wish? Not at all. You didn't feel like, see, I think growing up, I got some, I was depressed at times and I would get really dark and I was like, I just always felt like I was never going to live that long.

I don't think I had a death wish. I think I thought like most kids who think that they're never going to die. Really, you felt the opposite of me. You felt like I'm going to live forever. I could do whatever. Nothing bad's going to happen to me. That happens to everybody else.

That happened to me. I don't know. I guess you become numb to things, man. You can see them so often and they're just not, you know, they become commonplace and you just don't get freaked out by it. So fighting doesn't even bother you anymore. Someone, like when someone bothers you, when you get pissed off. Yeah.

I don't like to fight. Yeah. I feel horrible after, I will fight, I mean, I will fight to prove a point, but I feel horrible after. But what will start, we'll get that feeling inside you that, like, I got to kick this guy's ass. What would push your button? Well, it would take somebody being real disrespectful, and typically it would take somebody being disrespectful to someone I cared about. So if they called you a pussy, that wouldn't do it. It would depend on who the guy was.

You know, if the guy was my size and it felt like he was, you know, he's testing me. and yeah we'd probably get a fight I thought it was a smaller guy who I felt like buddy I'm not gonna yeah I'm not gonna I don't want to do this Michael said he wants to try to fight you Hey Dave you're a pussy I've been in like I bounce for 13 years man

So I've had all kinds of you know guys would You know beer muscles come up and start Try to start fights with me No but I've had I've had some rough ones I got in a fight I got in a fight with this kid Who I didn't want I didn't it was like happened so fast It escalated so fast

so fast. I didn't even know I was going to be in a fight. But he hit me with this wet floor sign that knocked me so silly. We got a fight in this, a Fuddrucker's hamburger place. Fuck. Were you there, Jonathan? No, it was with my girlfriend. It happened so fast. What, what, how did it, do you remember how it started? Yeah, this guy was, he was, looking at my girlfriend, and I looked over at him. When was this? It was 19, it's 95, 6ish. around there um but anyway this kid's looking at my girlfriend i look over him like you know why is he just being so disrespect when this friend um says something to him meant you know that i'm looking at him and he goes uh he goes i don't give a shit i'll punch him in his face three times before he hits me

once because he was much smaller in me and i was like what'd you say and he walks up to me he's like all aggressive he said you heard what the fuck i said so i just pushed him and he flies back and he goes oh hell no hell no and he goes and he goes and he picks up this wet floor sign and he comes and goes and I didn't think he's going to do it and he waxed me on the head with it and you stumbled and not only and I stumbled but then he tackles me and we go flying back into

the salad bar and we break the salad bar I swear he got we break the salad bar what the fuck anyway I start we start fighting then I start beating this kid's ass and we end up outside and I've got this kid and I'm like choking him and he finally goes all right all right all right so I let him go and then I'm just a disaster

and my girlfriend's salad all over your girlfriend's crying what the hell's happening and what the restaurant's a disaster I was like I don't know let's just go and so anyway we left

and then later the police came and arrested me you didn't start it no well apparently because I pushed him I started it did you sue you no they ended up dropping

all the charges but they did arrest me for it and then but they oh my God and also because because we left, they said we left the scene of a crime. Have you ever told that story? No, no, no. I haven't. I like that story.

It's a pretty incredible story because you don't expect some guy a lot smaller than you is going to start a fight with you and hit you with a... What is it? That's what, yeah, it was like one of those yellow wet floor signs. I mean, and that doesn't even look like it would hurt that bad. It was so funny. You hit me right in the corner. I actually had this big mark

on my head. Jesus. And it was, you know, some guys, they just, they got heart and I didn't uh I just it escalated so fast I didn't heart maybe he was a little insane it was no I think it was a little ghetto is what he was yeah just you know some kids from he's not gonna step down they don't step down you know but you know I'm kind of the same way you know I'd rather not I'd rather not I'd rather not I'd rather not you know I will I'll go there um but I'd just rather not yeah it's pretty amazing story Rob what do you mean I've been in a fight I'm not a real one what's a fake one I mean when I was like a kid

A little scuffle, I don't know, like the playground kind of fight. Oh, the playground kind of fight. I haven't hit a few times. I've gotten fights. I haven't won a lot of them. A lot of hockey. But, you know, I had a big mouth. That was my sort of mechanism where somebody would pick on me and I would go.

And I'd say something real smart and they couldn't top it. And everybody laughs. So they punched me in the face. You're funnier than me. Fuck off. They punched me in the face. Inside of you is brought to you by Quince. I love Quince, Ryan.

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inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum in the survey so they know I sent you. Don't wait. Download the Rocket Money app today and tell them you heard about them from my show inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum. Rocket Money. Really, you're doing all this stuff in D.C. You're just, you're not affected by a dead body in the neighbor's lawn. You're getting the fight. You're bouncing. What was it? The day you remember life's going to change now. What was that? Do you remember that? Do you remember that? day or days? I remember the day I made a conscious decision to change my life and it was a Christmas

and this is, it's still even hard for me to talk about. I was, but I had two kids at the time and I was like broke, man. I didn't, didn't know how I was going to buy my kids' Christmas presents. And so I went to the owner of one of the clubs I worked at and I asked them to borrow money so I could buy my kids' Christmas presents. And I remember, like, feeling so ashamed of it and so I'm just worthless. I got to make a change. And that's when I decided to pursue wrestling.

Were you a drinker? No, never. Drugs? Never. So you didn't get in any of that stuff? That probably saved you. Working out was my high. Working out was your high and you did it every day?

Every day if I could. Yeah, if I could work out every day, I would work out every day. And why? Why did you start working out? I just felt, you know, I felt normal when I was in the gym. I felt good. it made me, you know, I wasn't one of those guys, one of those Charles Atlas guys that people kicked sand in my face and, you know, all of a sudden I wanted to lift weights and be big

and tough. I just, uh, I was always athletic. I was always a muscular kid, but I didn't start working out until I was, uh, I think, uh, in high school. And that's why I just, I don't know, man, something. I guess it was just the feeling you got a high out of it. It was therapy for me, you know, it just made me feel good. It was like, I guess, you know, I could equate it to somebody who would sit down and talk to a therapist and work out other problems and that's what I did because I wasn't the type of guy who would just spill my guts. I wasn't the type of guy who would just dump my shit on the table and ask somebody to help me with that. Are you still that guy? I'm still that guy. Yeah. You go to a therapist? No, but I'm, you know, I'm not against it.

You know, I believe in it. I have gone and talked to therapists. And I've tried to be better at communicating. My wife has a lot to do with that. Like say what's on your mind, like now, don't hold it in that kind of shit i'm that guy man i like to i just bottle it all something pisses you off and you don't say anything for weeks and then it bottles up with all these other things and i'll say like why are you so upset and then i have an outburst isn't that i think a lot of people do that yeah yeah and i'm that guy and my wife always tries and i always thought we we have to find that happy medium because i'm i'm i'm that guy i'll bottle it up and weeks later will come out and just in resentment you know why are we out of

potatoes but my wife is you know she wants to talk about stuff like now she don't want to go to if we're having an issue and sometimes I say just can we just let it lie for just a little bit you know we'll talk about it but not right now and the reason I always say not right now is because if I start talking about it I'm just very blunt about things I'm very blunt way you say you don't say it comes across as mean you know I don't and I just want it I want time to think about everything and process everything so I can actually explain how I'm feeling and why I'm feeling this way instead of right there just throwing it out so we try to find that happy medium but she's He's, you know, she's working with me and I'm working with her.

I always say the wrong shit. Rob, Rob definitely says the wrong shit. Jonathan? Not too much. Not too much, he says. All the time. Jesus, you know, that guy.

He says the wrong shit. He has no filter, man. I don't have much of a filter either. I say things, then later, like, all of a sudden, like a week later, some, well, you know, you said this. I'm like, oh, no, that's not. I was just kidding her. I wasn't, but you can't.

That's why maybe talking about it right at that moment. No, no, no. I'm sorry for making you feel that way. Right. But like when you wait things, when they fester too long, when it's a week, two weeks, and then you bring it up, there's no recollection. There's no true. You don't see things vividly like it was just happened. You start to think, oh, nah. You took it wrong. It's hard. You got it. How long do you let it go, man? I always, I'm one of those people, like I'll say stuff and then I'll think, you know, I mean, I hope that came across the way I meant it to be. And then I'll obsess over it like for days. God, I hope and I didn't fend them. I didn't. I was just joking. I hope they got the joke. Well, you know, you picked a good profession to get into for something like that. You know, wrestling, it's like you say the wrong shit and you want to say the wrong shit.

You know, that was one of the things where I really struggled with wrestling, to begin with, was to speak at all. Like, it was a natural, I mean, it was a phobia of my public speaking. I was terrified of it. So you just thought being as intimidating as you can without having to say much? Yeah, because I was always a physical person and I knew I could rely on my physicality. And I thought, I really wanted that to carry me through. But it was, you know, there came a point where, again, if I wanted to move up, I wanted to progress in my career, I had to be a well-rounded professional wrestler.

So, which means you have to start speaking. You have to start going to act. Right? It was my nightmare. There's always a catch. You can't just be yourself. You've got to become something else. Yeah.

But my pacifiers were, and people always ask me why I always wore sunglasses and hats and stuff when I was, you know, in the ring, don't promos. And that was my pacifier. It was hiding behind it. Yeah. that's amazing and how you became an actor, which we'll get into. So you're wrestling. Who were your wrestling icons, like Rick Flair?

Did you like, Holgan? Where are you like, who are you really into? It's funny. You know, my idol when I was growing up, the guy who I looked up to the most was not, you know, a common favorite, but his name was, he was the warlord. The warlord. I sort of remember the warlord. And the reason I love the warlord is because he was the most massive human being I had ever seen at that time he was just enormous like i couldn't wait for him to come out because i just couldn't

believe how big he was and that was you know that's what i it was just in all of those those big guys so you had to like andrew the giant yeah but i it was the big muscular like andre was a fat kind of a heavy guy he was just he was a giant literally this guy the warlord was just all muscle just muscle just massive did you aspire to be him did you want to be as big as that guy when uh when i first started lifting weights. I don't think I ever wanted to be that big, but I definitely, I was always so long, you even see, I'm just gangly, I'm a long-limbed. I just wanted to be not so awkward. You know, I wanted to be more muscular and just filled out a little bit. Right. But never, you know, Mr. Olympiarian. So what got you in the wrestling? Uh, desperation. I was, uh, that's what it was,

man. I was, uh, that's why I told you I was, I was broken. But how do you know to, like, uh, I'm going to go there? Well, I, you know, there was, uh, there was, uh, you know, there was, uh, you know, it wasn't that much that I was qualified to do at the time. And wrestling was really hot at that time, but they were also, there was a company called WCW that was offering open tryouts. So I figure, you know, I'm an athletic person. I could figure this out. I think I looked the part, you know, yeah, I mean, this might be an opportunity.

Let me go try this. And I went for the tryout. I paid to go in and try out. And they told me to, you know, they ran me into the ground, said leave. You'll never be a professional wrestler. Did you, did they beat the shit out of you for those whatever? beat the shit out of me yeah it's it's a painful sport you know because people talk about oh well things aren't real they're they're real when you get slammed on these mats when you get

thrown around and you yeah and that's i mean that's why i don't like you know i see why you know people would use the word fake and i don't like you to use the word fake because to me that always translates into safe and it's not safe it's painful and it hurts it's dangerous so that's why i don't know but it is you know obviously it's entertainment and it's predetermined but it's just painful as shit it's very painful i like throughout my career i had i think like 13 surgeries uh on why god my biceps triceps back hamstring nose are you fused um not fused i had uh the laser surgery they shaved it down i broke my back in a on a match i had issues before that but it just put me over the top where my it gave me scoliosis and my discs were just all kind of

messed up do you live in pain i've had some fragment not no you don't have any i've had five back surgeries I got a hernia and just get my neck. I'm a mess. Oh, wow. Yeah, I'm always like, you know, my back's good now, but my neck's been really fucked up. Yeah. So, uh, and how's your testosterone? That's, it's good.

Mine's a little low. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I need to do something about that. Yeah. Are dead lips good for testosterone? Squats.

I've heard that, you know, the better shape you in, the more naturally it, you know, raises your, your testosterone, but I don't know what the science is behind that, to be honest. I can't believe you're not in any pain for all the fucking surgeries you've got. No, you know, I'm going in for another surgery on the second. I'm going to get my knee scoped. I tore my meniscus about, I think, three, four months ago, boxing. And it finally got so bad.

I was doing this film, and it got so bad. I was like, man, I got to go get this checked out. And I went, got to MRI this. Yeah, man, it's torn. You know, it's funny. You got to fix that. Stallone, who was in Guardians with us. Yeah.

We started talking because he's had so many back surgeries. Yeah, you have back surgery. I'm like, yeah, no, I've had like five. I've got five back surgery. What do you? I go my L4, L5 S-1. Yeah, that's what I had.

I got fused over there. Who's your doctor? And I said this guy's name. He goes, that's my fucking doctor. Are you kidding me? I'm like, that guy's an asshole. He's like, he doesn't even call me back, you know? You do a great Stallone.

I can't believe how good you're Stallone is. Sloan was so much fun to work with. And he was so cool because, like, we got, I had these dots on my face for CGI. I've told the story, but he comes like, who are you supposed to be? Bippy Longstock. Fucking what the fuck is this?

No, he was a treat, man. He was a real treat to work with him. I had him sign my Rambo lunchbox, which we just talked about you. How many lunchboxes do you have? And your first was Green Hornet? No, my first was E.T. Yeah. My first lunchbox when I was a kid, or the one that I remember the most, was Fat Albert.

But then I have one of those two. I love Fat Albert. How many do you have? I think I have like a couple hundred. And where do you keep them? Can you walk into your house and see them all on? No, I have one, not really a man cave, but I got one room. It's kind of geeky room.

It's got all my superhero. Well, you saw my geeky rooms. Yeah, yours is way better than mine. Really? I don't know if that's true, man. No, you've got like, man, your house is amazing. Well, Jonathan said you had lightsabers. How many lightsabers do you have?

Yeah, I don't have them anymore. We, you know, I downsized, and I have a smaller house now, so a lot of that stuff. Downsized? You're doing more and more movies. It's not because of money. After, so I went, but after wrestling, I was, I went broke, you know, I left wrestling. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, I left wrestling.

I, it was three years that I, I barely worked and, uh, got hit a little bit from the IRS and, and just went broke. So I had to start all over again, yeah. What is that like, I mean, we skipped a whole wrestling phenomenon, which became huge, but, I mean, going from having money, being known all this, I mean, how do you, how does that even happen? Like, people always wonder, how do they lose their money? Yeah.

How do they do this? Well, I mean, it's, it's, you know, it's a whole different thing when you got to check coming in, you know, every week, and then all of a sudden you don't have anything coming every week. And you've been divorced a couple times. Yeah, and that, and I'm still got all the same living expenses. I got people who are relying on me. And I don't, then the IRS comes and they want all your money, you know, so it just, I mean, that's the way it happened. And what's the mindset? It's like, how do you even wrap that around? Oh, yeah. How do you, how do you, like, what's the next step? You're like, I got to get a job. I got to get something. Yeah, I mean, that was

it and I never really stopped I was constantly after I left wrestling I was on a mission I knew what I wanted to do and I pursued it it just it took a long time I just I had a hard time getting auditions I couldn't get an agent I couldn't get auditions well how did you know take me back a little bit just in terms of the wrestling thing because I think that's so you go there they beat the shit out of you and then they said you're never going to be a wrestler right yeah yeah and you said most people would say okay you're right no it was a couple days later and then said to a you know Jonathan, he helped me out through that. And we started making phone calls to find different avenues

than to professional wrestling. Even after they said fuck off? Yeah, yeah. So that's what we did. We actually, I paid somebody to, uh, to train me to be a professional wrestler. And about a year later, we called the WWE and they offered me a trial. And then they offered me a very low-paying contract. What's a low-paying contract for a, uh, a wrestler just starting?

My, my contract was, uh, $650 a week. And how many times did you wrestle? It was training. So I was going every day. I was going to training, sometimes twice a day. But that's what I did. I went and learned how to be a professional wrestler. You know, we packed up.

We moved to Louisville, Kentucky, and that's where we lived for two years. And that's where it really started to happen. What did they see in you? No, no. No? Long after that. Long after that. You know, it was down there, it was, you know, a couple of injuries and a lot of, you know,

aches and pains. And anyway, two years later, I finally made it onto the road. And it was like this really horrible, horrible gimmick that they stuck me in and I was still kind of lost. And that was when... What gimmick? I was, uh, so there was this guy named Devon Dudley. He was known his character named Reverend Devon.

And he had this collection box where he was collecting money. So they did one episode where somebody stole the collection box. So now he needed an enforcer, somebody to come in and protect the collection box. That was Batista? So that was Batista. It was Deacon Batiste. I came in. I had this awful suit and I had this big chain around my neck attached to this big steel box

and I would come in. Did you talk? No, I didn't talk at the time. I would come in and just collect money, and that's what was my part. That was what I did. So, I mean, that probably started something, right? Well, it did. Those little things seemed to help, right?

The thing is, I was on television. I was getting television experience, and it was then a wrestler named Triple H, who took a liking to me, saw some potential in me, and came up with this gimmick that would be like a click, And it would be four of us who would be me, Triple H, Rick Flair and Randy. Randy Orton, Evolution. Evolution.

And that's how Evolution was born. And I was the enforcer of the group. And it was not until even a couple years after that, or maybe a year or so after that, one night we had, they really wanted to build Randy as kind of the future of that company. And one night we had teased a fight between myself and Triple H who was kind of the head of that faction.

And the crowd just lost their mind. they lost their mind they were so into it and that's where something sparked i think in and vince's head and said hmm i think we got something here and that is actually how it all started and once you're in vince mcmans head yeah yeah in a place a very dangerous place but a very good rewarding place to be very very and i have you know it's weird like some people have had falling out to with vince and i have nothing but great things to say about vince i mean he treated me very well. And we disagreed about a lot, but he was always, he was never, he was never against me coming in to have an argument with him. I think Vince likes to argue. Did you yell?

All the time. Like you'd go in there and go, Vince, I'm not fucking doing this. No, I never, I didn't say that. And I wouldn't say that. But I was always, if I had a point to make, I would make it and I would be very strongly opinionated. And I think he appreciated that about me. And a lot of times, you know, it just, you know, it just was what it was. I spoke my mind that at the end of the day, he You know, he says yes or no. I'm getting paid more than $650 a week. I can't do this. I can't afford anything.

Jonathan wants cigarettes. Right, right. You know, I actually went to Vince, like, when I first started making money, it was the first time I bought my house in Florida. It was my first time buying a house. And for me, that was, I'd come a long way from, you know, from a poor kid and, you know, in Washington, D.C. to buying my first home in Florida. And Vince's face lit up.

And he said, and he just said, a homeowner and gave me a hug man isn't that extraordinary it was great man to be able to buy a house for me it's like a dream come true i just i you know owning a home was like uh you know it's security man that's every poor kid wants security you know it's not it's not a money thing i think a lot of people would get that confused i think i think poor kids want security man a lot of people you know they take their money and they do wrong things with it but i think at the end day security is the word that you know every kid dreams of having a roof over your head yeah a roof over a place to be food in your mouth, you know?

Yeah. So now you're done with wrestling. You say I'm done with wrestling. The IRS comes in. I mean, they take everything. They took a lot. They took a lot. They took a lot.

So how did you rebound? And you decided at this point you want to be an actor? No, I left wrestling to pursue acting. It was intentional. I left on good terms. I gave them plenty of notice. I didn't walk out. I let my contract run out.

And I left with a mission. to get into acting. Well, that's taking a chance, isn't it? It was taking a huge chance, but it was, I left, real, I'll try to make this super short, but so I left because I felt like I was on top of the company. I was on top of the company, John Cena was on top of the company. We were the two guys that were headlining every show. And at the time, they were doing a lot of movies with John Cena.

They were doing a lot of commercials with John Cena, a lot of magazine covers, everything with John Cina. He was really the face of our company, which I got. He just fit the bill. But I felt like if I wasn't going to have the opportunities within the company, like acting doing films, that I should have the opportunity to go outside of the company and audition and try to get, you know, acting acting. And they said, no, we need you here and headline these shows. You're our intellectual property. You know, this is where we need you.

What's pissed you off? Which pissed me off. So that's what I did. I said, well, then if you're not going to give me, I should have the same opportunities as everybody else. If you're not going to give them to me within the company, then I should be able to. go outside the company. If I can't do that, then I'm just going to leave. And so I let my contract run out and I left. Did you inadvertently, do you think you, like, in retrospect, sort of resented Sina? Because he was getting all this. Like, it's one of those kids in high school that's like

getting the popularity and you're like, fuck, why should you go out with that guy? No, I didn't resent him because I am a big believer in opportunity. And I think if somebody is given an opportunity and you don't take it, then you're a fool. So he had to take it Of course To take it Of course you That's why we're all there

For opportunities That's why I felt That's maturity I think To think like that Because that's how I feel It's taking me time I think that I'm sure When I was younger

I was like Why is that guy fucking Why am I not getting a But and then you realize Hey man I'll make my own shit I'll do my own shit That's what I mean

Somebody gave him that part Right If he doesn't take the opportunity Then he's an idiot So anyway So that was I just wanted a fair opportunity I wanted the same opportunity

As everybody else If I'm headlining shows And he's headlining shows but he's gotten all these opportunities, I want the same opportunities. If you're not going to give him to me here, then I will leave. And they thought you were bluffing, didn't I?

They really did. They really thought you were bluffing. Was there a time when they came, Vince said, Hey, come on, you're not going to really do this, are you? Yeah. And you said, yeah. Yeah, it was the day before I walked out. The day before he called you.

Yeah, no, no, we talked in person. Was it not good? Well, here's the thing. At that point, when I was leaving, he had told him, you know, we talked about the films, and he was going to give me a chance to do a film with them. And I was like, great. But they had taken my idea, which I pitched to them,

and turned it into this really awful idea. So I wasn't excited about it. The day before I was leaving, he said, I don't feel comfortable giving you this film, not knowing that you're going to be here to promote it. And I said, you have my word. I will come and promote it. Still, you know, I don't think so.

I think we're going to give this film to Triple H. And I was like, okay, I understand. And I think he was expecting an anger, you know, an angry reaction from me. And he goes, I just don't get you. And it's at that point, it was just, it was just too late. I had made up my mind. I was focused on other things. I knew where I wanted to go.

And so it was just too late. And then so he hit me with, where else are you going to make this kind of money? And then I was like, I believed in yourself. That's it. Yeah. I just, and that was it. And I knew I was going to hurt. I, I love those checks coming every week.

I mean, it was great. It was really, again. security but you know at that point it just I had my mind made up so that's what I did I star for three years and it was actually after I got guardians that I felt like well now I kind of proved my point I did what I said I was going to do and I want to go back and do some wrestling that's incredible and I'm sure there were moments where you were like what did I do I should did you ever feel like Colin Vince during those three years no not one right and I just I don't know man I just believe and there was actually there was a few friends that I never forgave who

had that conversation with me. What the hell are you doing? You need to go back to WWU, man. You're blowing it because they didn't believe in me. That dude right there is the only one who believed in me. Jonathan's sitting across in my massage chair that's not even plugged in. I apologize for it not being plugged in. It's giving you, you can plug it in, by the way.

If you want a massage, it's over here. You sure? It didn't make a noise, though. It sounds like a vibrator. I don't own those, by the way. Yeah, it would change the whole interview. So you've known him since you're 18? Yeah, yeah.

And he's been with you every step of the way. Yeah, every step, yeah, yeah. So he's the, see, that's, like, to the point of, like, loaning me, like, lots and lots of money to get me through, to carry me through. That's, like, we said, those three years where I was starving, that's how I got through. He just helped, he just filled in the blanks for me. Dude, all you need is one friend like that. That's what I'm saying.

You know, I got a friend like that who's been with me. He's one of those guys who just, like, you know, he's always been there. And I saw that he was in trouble once. And I've known him 33 years. And, I mean, it took everything. for him to accept money from me yeah and he was like no i don't want your money i listen listen just and finally took it three months later he paid me back with interest that's the kind of guy he was true friends true love true like hey i'm with you man i want to do whatever it takes i've been there i will

be there and that's it's rare man it's fucking rare so even if people like you know even if he hadn't been in the position to help me out get me through like financially mentally he still always just always believed in me if i said i wanted to do this crazy thing he was like yeah yeah you can do it you know it's not even my mom when i left wrestling she said you're crazy what are you doing you know yeah no she's just yeah it's hard to say oh they don't have my back they don't believe me because i'm sure they do but really when i told my parents i wanted to be an actor they're like are you out of your fucking mind because 99.9% of people don't work why are you doing this right right they don't know they didn't know that i was

going to be successful. Right. And so as much as they want me to be successful and go, God, I hope his dreams come true. I hope this happens. But deep down they're saying, never going to happen. People in my hometown are like Rosenbaum, Rosenbaum's never going to do anything with his life. He'll work in a fucking grocery stores in a life.

And I did it for three years. He'll work at Sonoco Gas. That's Rosenbaum. He's not going to be a successful actor. And it's hard to get that mentality. You still think like that. Oh, sometimes you go, I think they're right. But look at you.

It's this weird thing. that you just don't lose. But, okay, so this is such a great story. You should do a, you should do a movie about you. And, uh, it'd be weird. I think it'd be a great story. The young, they did it with Howard Stern. Well, you know, I can just imagine right now sits opens up with some dead guy on the

fucking picket fence and everybody's around there and your mom's like, I can't believe you're not even affected by this. I'm like, well, I, we're not related to him, mom. Why should I feel some, because he's a dead person, mom. We're going to go out and go, I can't believe it. We're moving from here. And I could see the story. Let me write it.

I'm going to write the Batista's story. It's a story about your life. It's a great story. I was actually just, yeah, I did a book years ago. You're saying, like a Johnny's like, hey, man, that's a pretty good opening. I was thinking about doing like a follow-up to that book just because it's, yeah, I did it around 2006. And it was really about growing up in my wrestling. But, you know, I've done a lot since then.

Good and bad. I mean, had good times, bad times. So I was thinking about doing a follow-up book. book i'm talking movie baby yeah i don't know i don't know we should talk about it people are going to be talking about it now after this podcast so guardians of the galaxy how do you get the balls to go in and audition for this because when i watch these movies the by the way that laugh is so that laugh to me made guardians of the galaxy too i called james gun the director our friend and said batista steals the fucking movie period they're all great

Batiste, he goes, I know, isn't he great? No, he's like, I, when you laugh, it's like, I'm telling you, I just started, you just make me laugh hard. You're so funny. And I'm like, this is a guy who never wanted an act, who hid behind sunglasses and a hat on stage who didn't want to talk, who didn't want to talk, who didn't want, who doesn't love publicity, who just wants to be himself, monotone, opposite of me. And yet, how is he, I don't know anybody who could play that part. Yeah. How did you audition for that? Well, it's a little bit of a story.

But anyway, I had gotten an agent like a week or two before the audition. And this is a guy, his name's Brett Norseberg, but he actually turned me down three times before. But anyway, we kept running into him. We ran into him like everywhere. He had so many conversations with Jonathan and myself, he said, you know, I really like Dave. I really like to help him. So a couple weeks after that, he found out about this audition for Daxon. This is how he built up my hopes.

He goes, now, I don't want you to get your hopes up. You know, it's a real long shot. There's a lot of names auditioning for this. It's a major motion picture, Dave. You're not going to get this. He said, but I had to fight really hard to get you this audition. So anyway, so he built me up for that. And I went in and met with Sarah Finn.

And she was amazing, man. She was just because I was so nervous. You met with Sarah before you saw James. Yes. I was, and I flew out to L.A. for this audition, and I was absolutely terrified, and Sarah was like, take your time. So just relax, you know, just take your time. We're going to do it a few times. We would do it however you want. She just made me feel so comfortable. Then anyway, I just banged out this audition. How many lines did you have in the audition? It was a couple scenes. Yeah, it was a couple scenes. Do you remember the scene? It was one where I was talking about my wife and daughter being killed. it was an emotional beat and there was another one where I didn't get uh I'm getting

originally the orb wasn't the orb it was something else that they're I think this because of sides you know they're not the real side right right so they described it as something else um but it was like I didn't really get what it was I was taking it literally and and she asked me what it was and I kind of explained to her back in a very bad way what something was I was just one of those you know where drag drags things it takes everything literally those those type that type of scene. And how did James react when you went in the room? So she calls me later after the audition and she says, would you mind staying in town to come back to read for the director? And I was like, no, of course. I'll stay. And that's when it was like, that's when

it became real. And so you went in there. And I didn't sleep that night before. I was terrified. Were you still on book? Did you still read this? No, I had it. You had it memorized. Yeah, I had it. Did you go over it a million times? I did. And it's because my acting coach came with me and really kind of coach me through it and encouraged me through it and we we worked really hard so he would make sure that I actually went in for even the first audition completely off book just prepared so he stayed with me he babysat me through the whole process but he wasn't in the room with James no he let you go yeah he let me go and went in and James you know James dude he's just so right right right out off the bat I just clicked with him and he just made me feel

super comfortable how many times you do it uh we did a few times and then we auditioned there a few times and then i actually came back a few times after that to so you came in a couple of times to get i think like four times yeah through chemistry tests and auditioned and did you know you got it on the last time when you walked out no we thought we just till the last minute because they wouldn't exclude like it took three months just as three months of waiting because they wouldn't exclude me from the part but they wouldn't give me the part and i'll tell you what they were thinking they were thinking you know he's he's the part he's he's good i mean you get a great read he's this you know but he's a wrestler and i don't know are we gonna have there's so many things i'm

sure that there is he to this we need a bigger star we need this we want an actor he's gonna hold us up on set yeah all these things that they're fucking talking about and james obviously is going no this is the fucking guy yeah and james was uh he was very supportive of me and i think he was vocal about it but i think originally they were really against to have any pro wrestler play this part and i know that is for a fact because um one of the producers actually he talked to me about it. Well, it's a good thing you quit pro wrestling at the time. Yeah, and he just said, you know, they said, and he actually apologized.

You said, you know, I just, you were the right guy. We just, we had, you know, certain, I guess, certain stereotype in our head, you know, at first. And, and he just, so, you apologize, I'm sorry. We ever, you know, made that even an issue. Remember the time you got it? Do you remember the call? Who called you? Yeah, I called, well, my agent and Jonathan called me and I was driving down the street.

I was on my way to the gym, surprise, surprise. And I broke down, man. I broke down, drove home, and I was just in tear, walked in the doors, in tears. Tears, hysterical? Oh, in tears. And then to my wife and said, I got the part. Yeah. And then you both cry.

I'm about to cry right now. The dog's crying. Are you? It changed your life. See, now you get me upset. You fuck. Literally, when I tell people that, it's really hard for them to grasp, but it didn't, it didn't change my career.

It changed the trajectory of my life. That's amazing. And I love hearings. And it couldn't happen to a better guy. I mean, you're really some guy who has evolved, but always kept who you are. That's never gone away. No, I don't ever go away. I think I was just, you know, I had developed, you know, my character well before I got in this business or entertainment, period.

So I just, I was developed as a person, you know. And now you got all these movies. You're offered movies all the time. You've been done a lot of movies. Yeah, yeah. And you know what it is? And I'm still, and I use this term a lot. I say I'm not really, I don't, I care less about being a movie star.

I just want to be a good actor. Like, I really want to be a good actor. Do you take classes still? No, you know, it's weird. I talk to my coach a lot. We stay in touch. His name is Joe Ackman, and he's a very close friend. I love him to death.

I think I need to call him. Jumpstart my career here, Rob. But we have discussions. I don't really go and work with him anymore, only because I'm working. so much. So I feel like I'm, I always say that I'm an on-the-job learning actor, and I feel like I come off every project, a stronger

actor, and I take away something from every director and every actor that I work with. You get nervous? Terrified. Still? You still get nervous every day you're filming? I'm going to take 10 guy. Really? That's when I get, I can shake the triggers. You let it go? Yeah.

You don't sleep before you shoot? You get nervous? You're thinking about stuff? It depends. sometimes I get worked up about certain things. Like what? Like I got to be good. I got to, you still feel like you have to prove yourself?

Sometimes I, you know, I, when I know, I put a lot of stock into certain scenes and I just want them to, I think it's just a pressure

that I just want them to be as good as they can be. And you know how sometimes, you know, you're just, I did this, just a couple weeks ago, I had this really,

really emotional scene. But I was in such a great mood. I was like having such a good day. I was like, I didn't know if I can, It could get there, you know. And it just, you know. You should have had that guy come up with the wet sign of smack you in the fucking head.

That would have done it, right? Sometimes you just need a smack, you know, Jonathan with the side. Remember this fucker? But, you know, just, you know, things like that, man. So I get, you know, worked up. And you know, working on a movie, it's like, and I know James, he likes to do a lot of takes. Yeah. So when you're first working with him, you're like, am I not getting this right?

Am I not doing this right? Am I not doing this right? Are they going to fire me? Did you ever think stuff like that? Not with James, because he's very, I mean, he's, he's very communicative. He really talks to you. And he's, I mean, it's not, it's not a rare thing for him to come out and say, you're killing this, you're killing.

You know how he gets all worked up and he comes out and he's all excited. Yes, that's it. He just gets really excited. Yes, yeah, yeah. So I know where I'm at with him. I know where he's Stan, and I love that about him because even on the stuff's funny, because you can hear him laughing. Yeah, yeah.

He loves to laugh at his own jokes. Yeah, yeah. And he's also, yeah. You know how, yeah, I love the way he just spits out and, you know, he just starts spitting him out and you just keep it rolling. Say this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I love it.

So I always get immediate feedback from James, which helps me a lot. Yeah. Who is your favorite to, I mean, it's hard to answer that because you work with all these guys. Right. But who is your, like, who are your closest to? Actors? Yeah. Well, I think Guardians for sure.

I think I've, I mean, out of the, who out of the cast? I didn't say it. Oh, out of the cast. Well, I guess. I guess what I'm on set, I would say, Pratt, but I don't, I mean, we don't, it's weird because we don't really, like, talk to each other a lot when we're not, we're not filming. Right. We don't, you know, we text each other every once in a while, but I think I bonded with him somewhat. You know, it's a weird thing because when we first got to London to film the first Guardians, and he was, he was a, he was a big star at that point, but not like he is now.

Right. Now he's just, again. No, he's like one of the biggest stars in the world. And the nicest guy. We see him at the counter all the time. He's like, hey, dude, what's up? I don't know, you're a huge movie star and you're really cool. That's cool. Right, but at that point, he didn't, you know, he had gone to London and he was by himself

and I was by myself, so I think we bonded a little bit. But also, I think I interact with Palm really well, you know. Yeah, those scenes with her. And Karen, uh, Karen Gillen, who I just had on. My buddy, I just love her. She loves you. I love her, me, I mean, you answered this. This is a question.

Jonathan's like, here comes the question. How long have you been in, how long are you in makeup during the show? First movie, you were in a lot longer. They made it better, right? Yeah, that was like four to six hours on the first film. I mean, how do you do that? Were you going crazy? So, no, not at all.

You know, it's weird. Because by the time we did the second film, I think I would have gone crazy. I don't think I could have done it again. What would they get it down to? To an hour and a half. You went from six hours to an hour and a half? And it's a completely different process. And the reason is they knew how to do this process on the first film, but they couldn't figure out how to get it off.

because they would have to take it on and off every day and it would just eat away at my skin. When people have to go, I heard that they'd go in a sauna with you at night? I do. That's how they figured out that they could, that's the way they figured out to take it off. I go in a sauna and they start to melt it off

before they actually start applying the chemical. So how many men? Is it men? Yeah. So it's how many men go into a sauna with you at night? Three. Three men. Are they close to nude?

Way more nude than I care for them to be, yeah. Right. And what do you talk about for an hour where they take your, suit off. And are you naked under there except for underwear, right? Yeah, I wear swimming trunks in you. You have swimming trunks. Yeah. And they peel you off. You're like, hey, so how is

your guy's day? Yeah, it's great. That's the thing. We're so bonded at this point. You just love each other. You don't care. There's nothing we couldn't talk about. There's one, I bet there's some rules, though. You can't fart. None of these guys can fart in a sauna. That's disrespectful. I think, you know, it's weird. I guess it's an unsaid rule because we all just have a lot of respect for each other. But I'm sure there's parts that were saved in that suit that are trapped in there. There's that when you rip it off, it's like, oh, what was that?

Oh, that was from six hours ago. Yeah, I just, I had a scene that. I'm sure, you know, it's one of those things, even if, if one of those guys had ripped one, I mean, I wouldn't give them hell about it. You know, it's just, we're so bonded, man, it doesn't matter. Oh, man. This is, this is fun. I've had a blast that, you know, uh, how long is Karen in the, uh, in the, in the trailer

for? Um, Gellon, Gillen, who plays. She is in for much longer than I am. And she has had, like on the last couple of Avengers and Guardians 2 has had it the worst. I have so much respect for her because no matter, you know, how much sleep she gets, no matter, you know, how hard it is, she's always the same person. She's super bubbly. She's nice to everyone. She is.

I've never, ever once seen her in a bad mood. Have you seen people lose their shit on set? Oh, yeah. You won't say who? You know, I won't say who because, just because I don't even care enough about them to put their name out there. Right. But I've even had a couple outburst. Right.

You know, there's been a couple times there. What bothers you on set? When I get hungry. I don't like being hungry. I don't either. I make it very known that that's, I don't require much, but just keep me fed. What happens if you say, I'm hungry and an hour goes by? Yeah, no, I won't, I won't let that happen.

And there was a point in my career where I would have let it happen. But now I won't let it happen because it gets to the point where I go and I wait. And if you don't say anything, you know, if you don't say anything, it's somebody for Nick. I don't want to say anything. I'll get to. Yeah. Now you're like, I have to because this is changing. Now I'm just getting, now I'm just, now I'm in a bad mood.

Nicholson, Day 18 of the Shining, I'm about to fucking knock through the door with the axe. Get me a fucking sandwich. Right. Dave, darling, if you don't get me a goddamn sandwich, right? You're really good at this, man. I know, I don't like a buddy hack it. It's like a regular buddy hackett. Yeah, I was a loser in high school.

I used to sit up on the weekends and memorize people's voices and doing impressions. I don't have any of those talents. You don't have one impression. You don't know one impression you can't sort of do. I don't do, I can't do, I can't do, not musical, I can't sing. Everybody could do a walk. But I want to do all those things. Here, try this.

Your, your son. Your son. You're already almost better than L.D. Other walking is. Your son. I know this scene. I love true. Your son.

Fuckhead that he is. And that bitch who a girlfriend, they took my narcotics. No, I know. You know where they are. So tell me. I would sit in my room for hours, but you can do it. If you listen, if you were a loser like me. It's one of my favorite movies, by the way.

Isn't that the best? I love Tony Scott films. The best. Tony's the best. It was the best. Oh, yeah. I'm so heartbroken that I never got a chance to work with that guy. Yeah, brilliant.

But you're going to work with a lot of great directors. You already have, right? Yeah. All right. We got some questions here. Yeah. I'll ask questions here. Sean Ward, you should ask him if he's made any headway on trying to get the Gears of War movie made with Marcus Phoenix.

Yeah. No. Do you want to? Clumpt 73. Universal's fault. We've been knocking on their door for years about this project. And it just has gone nowhere. Our last conversation was with a producer named Dylan Clark, you know, I think who I think is still got a,

gears and we still regular calls and see where it's at where the script is. But it's just, I think they've had issues with, you know, getting the script, which is, you know, maybe a good thing because they want it to be right. They're putting some stock into it. And if it's just not right, they're just, you know. So it could happen. It could happen. I think it will happen. I don't know if I'll ever be a part of it, but I will beg and plead and scratch and claw and try to make my way.

Karameza, Karolim S, underscore S. If you weren't an actor, what would you be up to right now? Ooh, that's a tough one after hearing this. I mean, if I wasn't, I'd probably still be wrestling. If you didn't have any desire to act, you'd wrestle. I think so, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I loved professional wrestling. I miss it all the time.

Ian, geek for hire. At MacLeod, 72, it role for movies you enjoyed in your youth. Would you love to have played? Oh, God, in my youth. It's got to be a Star Wars role, for sure. Oh, yeah, definitely. Well, if it was Star Wars. Yeah, I was thinking, like, in 80s, like that time during,

my youth but uh yeah no i mean godstar was still i mean another series of films that i've begged and pleaded to be a part of you just yeah me too i said i'd be a fucking extra i'll be a stormtrooper that no one sees i just let me do anything yeah it's like anything yeah no no look i think that's pretty much it let's see will we get a rock and dave batista movie gondy boy eight and do you want to win an oscar someday or be nominated would you like to do something serious like that you know it's weird. I don't really put too much stock into awards because I don't need accolades but what I want

is that Academy award worthy role which is not easy for me to get because I look like a gorilla. Those roles just aren't there for me and I would like that role I want to you know I want to test myself

What did you do a TV show? Yeah I've been trying to get on TV for years. If I brought you something I'm just saying hypothetically yeah it was like a drama No, I've been pursuing TV for years. You love to do something like that. Yeah. Something cool, Netflix, HBO, something, whatever, right?

Yeah. You seem pretty open to that. We've gone and had all those meetings. We've been in pursuit. You'd be great. And I love the idea. Because I like working. I like working.

I like, uh, so we, I'm, and I miss TV, to be honest with you. You'd be a TV star instantly, don't you think, Rob? Instantly, Jonathan, you get a TV show, that's it. You're, you're going to be, I mean, I just could see that easily. They just have to find the right thing for you. pursuit and we've had some good talks with Netflix but it's just you know we actually had this project that we brought to them

the way we thought they might love but they weren't crazy about it as a series so we've gone more towards a feature with it and we'll probably get it made I think within the next couple years. It was originally called Bodybags now it's called Dogtown but I think we'll get it made it's a really that's a great story it's a fun story dark comedic drama and actions

what's next? So after I finish the film I'm on now which is Stuber who's in that? Me and Camille and Johnny. And there's a lot of great, you know, Betty Gilpin's in it and Mir Savino's in it. This has been awesome, man. Thanks, man. I mean, look, to me, this is one of my favorites. You know, I've always loved you. You're a good guy. Thanks for opening up. Thanks for allowing me to be inside of you, Dave. Thanks for being inside of me. And when you become a big, you've already a movie star, but when you become a big TV star, when you come back, you got to come back and chat with me.

I want to move in. I want my own room here. You like this house. I love this house. Dude, you can stay here and you want. You don't know. You have to see my house and see how much I'm actually into this. Like this is... In Tampa. Yeah, in my house, like, you have my dream house. There's two houses...

Buy it. Buy my house. Don't ever sell this place. But there's two houses I've ever been into that I was just in utter awe of. And one is yours. And the other one is a buddy of mine named, C.M. Punk. In his house, he's got this building in Chicago that he bought. He's just...

He had a building. I'm not that rich. And he's got all this... stuff too he's got like wrestling memorabilia and superhero memorabilia he actually wrote a marvel comic uh for a while he did he did the dracks oh really and he's uh but he's a buddy of my from wrestling just by coincidence he ended up getting this in so he wrote tracks that's amazing well hey i'm not even kidding i'm not here a lot but i have guest rooms you ever want to crash here not spend a money in a hotel you just crash here i'll give you a key why wouldn't you

like your privacy don't you no i i don't feel like i wouldn't have my privacy here you would You'd have your whole floor. Jonathan, you got your own bedroom? Would you ever go back to wrestling? Yeah, I tried to go back last year, and it's just because I never felt like I wrapped up my career, and the last run I had was really just bad. I butted heads with the company a lot over creative issues.

You know, it was just not good, and I had to leave. Right when I finally started to hit my stride, I had to leave to go promote guardians. And I just felt like I never really read it. You want to resolve that you'd like to go? I'd like to leave the right way. I just feel there, you know, there's an uneasiness about the way I left. And I just, I ended my career.

Because I had a great career. Yeah. I had a really great career. And the WWU was, you know, it changed my life, man. And they took me around the world and just opened all kinds of doors from me. And I'd just really like to wrap up things the right way there. Well, you know, sometimes on this, this always becomes therapy. And I always imagine, like, if I was your therapist for this last hour,

what I have gathered from the what you know and what you have gathered from me if you were my therapist what would you say so I'm thinking I look at you and I'm like this guy has been through it all right you were poverty stricken as a kid your parents got divorced you were on the streets you were fighting you were bouncing you found wrestling then you found out you just kept pushing yourself and kept moving even though you faced a lot of adversity but it's like you seem to just have your shit together like you know what you want want you know what you want to do and you know who you are most importantly so if i was your therapist i'd say really fuck don't do anything you shouldn't be in this therapy session

that's kind of what i'm saying i think i think that's it i you know i think uh somewhere later in my life i i'm still learning things about myself but i think somewhere later in my life i became comfortable with myself you know i accept my awkwardness how how what what year was that oh yeah no i know am i how old are you know it wasn't i it wasn't i wasn't that long ago i'm 49 you're 49 yeah okay so i'm 46 so i'm hoping i start to figure this shit out this is you're my therapist now talk to me about that no and i think it's uh i think it might have been within the last four or five years where i just became you know okay with being kind of weird you know awkward weird's okay yeah different and different and not trying to be somebody i'm not

do you think you stress less now you just kind of go with the flow i don't know if i stress less You know, I think I thrive off my stress. My stress is a good thing, you know. It's not a bad thing. I don't look at it as a negative thing. I think it's me wanting to achieve more, to be more, to, you know, do more, make something out of my life, make it mean something, you know. Purpose.

Yeah, I want to have a purpose. We had Jonathan and I were just having this conversation. I just, I don't understand people who can wake up and just float through the day without a purpose, without wanting to contribute something to life. You know, I just say, that's it. I just, I want my life to have meant something. That was about as profound as you can get. That's, we're going to end there.

Thanks, Dave. Thanks, Dave. That was awesome. Thank you, man. Football season is here. Oh, man. Believe has the podcast to enhance your football experience. From the pros.

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