Why Dave Bautista Is ‘Training Hard’ to Stay Trim

When it comes to staying lean, it’s all part of the job for Dave Bautista.

The former WWE superstar, 55, shared during an appearance on the Tuesday, Sept. 10, edition of the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast that he “absolutely” focuses on staying slim to avoid being too “distracting” on camera.

“I started trimming down for a particular reason. Why? One, I started trimming down because I just got fat,” he explained, expressing that he had gotten “uncomfortable big” for his starring role in the 2023 thriller Knock at the Cabin and weighed “around 315 pounds.”

“When I was younger, I was carrying lots and lots of muscle. This I had to put on like you know, between films,” he recalled. “I had a very short period of time to put the suede on. I packed it on with french fries and pancakes.”

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“That’s how I did it, and the director [M. Night Shyamalan] asked me, he said, ‘You know, I don’t want you to look like a powerlifter. I just want you to look like a great big guy,’ ” continued Baustista. “And so now, looking back at it, man, I probably overdid it.”

“I was probably a little too big, but at the time, I was just thinking, ‘I got to get big, got to get big, I got to get big,’ and I put an uncomfortable amount of weight, and it took me forever to shed it out,” he said.

Trimming down ultimately made him feel and look “better” on camera next to other actors.

“It’s weird because people think, like for me, people say, ‘God, you’re skinny.’ I even saw online some people are worried about my health, and when I say out loud to people, ‘I’m 6’4″, 240 pounds.’ It sounds like when you say that out loud, it sounds like I’m a big person,” he said.

“But to me, because people have seen me so much, so you know, so much bigger over the years, and you know, they think I’m anorexic,” continued Bautista. “But I’m still just a large human being, so at 6’4″, 240 pounds next to your typical actor, I look like a gorilla, and it’s distracting.”

“I’ll probably lose a few more pounds. I’m basically killing myself to be this trim,” he said. “I’m training hard.”

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Bautista’s latest movie, The Killer’s Game, arrives in theaters Friday.