Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has been going strong in international theatres ahead of its U.S. release this Friday, and it seems like audiences are ready to embrace another adventure from Marvel's cosmic misfits. However, actor Dave Bautista — who plays the ferocious lunkhead, Drax — has admitted that he wasn't a huge fan of the film's script when he first received it.
“I was excited about the script,” Bautista told CBR, “[but] when I first read the script, I wasn’t crazy about my part. It went a different direction than what I thought they were going to go with Drax. That’s just because I was expecting one thing and got another. So I was a little bit thrown off at first. Also, what I usually do when I get a script is I read my dialogue first, I just didn’t really get the jokes. I just didn’t think Drax was that significant in the film, and I don’t find myself funny at all. So I remember reading, and I’m just sitting there not laughing. Like, wow, it was disappointing because I thought Drax was going to be so much more.”
Of course, context is everything, and Bautista acknowledged that it was the table read with his co-stars that put everything into perspective. “When we sat down for the table read, is when it clicked. It clicked in my head. For one, I could hear everybody doing their own parts, and it was just so funny and deep, and some of it sad. But also, when I would say my lines and people would laugh, it would kind of start to make sense."
One element that helped the actor was the addition of Pom Klementieff as Mantis, whose humourous delivery resonated well with Bautista. “We knew right away on the screen test, because I screen tested with three or four other actresses, and Pom was the one who I just connected with emotionally,” he said. “Like me, she just wears her heart on her sleeve, and she’s just got that emotional range. She also has a knack of being able to deliver a joke in a deadpan manner. She’s got the same knack. It just meshed well together.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 releases on May 5, 2016.
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