When I think of Dave Bautista, I mentally associate him with action, with actors like Jason Statham, The Rock, and Vin Diesel. I think of explosions and fighting and suplexes. I certainly don't think of the life of a celebrated author who lived through World War 1, travelled the world and won a Nobel Prize.
Nevertheless, action superstar Bautista, when asked what his dream role as an actor would be, has stated it would be Ernest Hemingway. The American writer known for winning both a Nobel Prize in Literature and a Pulitzer Prize had a very interesting, and ultimately tragic, life which would certainly be a good basis for a film - but we're not sure Bautista is quite who we'd have in mind for the role. Hemingway's work includes The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms and he also had a career in journalism, in addition to joining the Red Cross during World War 1 to drive ambulances. He committed suicide in 1961 having been diagnosed with hemochromatosis, dying at the age of 61.
Dave Bautista stars in the brand-new zombie film Army of the Dead, now streaming on Netflix. Here's the trailer...
In an interview with Polygon, the actor mentions that he has two dream roles. One is Bane from the DC universe, and the other is playing Ernest Hemingway. Bautista says: "I've given a lot of thought to inspirational stories I could play, interesting stories I could play. And the one that seems to keep coming back to me is Ernest Hemingway. If I could play any character, I still think it would be him. I think I could do him justice. I think he's so interesting, everything about his life, and the way he lived, and also the way he died. It's just very intriguing, his ideas are intriguing to me."
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He follows that up by reaffirming that Bane is also a role he'd love to take on in the DC universe - but, so far, that hasn't come true. The former WWE wrestler has increasingly shown his acting prowess in the roles he's been cast in. After his breakout role as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy the actor has popped up in more and more Hollywood projects, such as Army of the Dead and recently being cast in Knives Out 2. He will also appear in Dune and once again become Drax for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
We hope he finally gets to play either Hemingway or Bane in the future, and if a Gears of War movie eventually does get made, he needs to play Marcus Fenix. Even the Gears 5 devs agree, which is why they replaced Marcus with Bautista in the game that one time.
Featured Image Credit: Netflix / Dave Bautista (via Instagram)