Real-life Guardians hit Singapore

SINGAPORE — Getting the role of a lifetime might see some jump in the air and whoop for joy, but for the hulking 2m-tall former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista, his first response was to cry.

“I was driving, I was on the way to the gym — surprise surprise — and my manager called, and he said ‘congratulations, Mr Drax’, and I literally just broke down,” said Bautista, who plays Drax The Destroyer for Marvel’s upcoming summer blockbuster, Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Together with co-star Zoe Saldana and director James Gunn, Bautista was in town today (July 10) for the South-east Asian tour of the movie.

The movie, which opens in Singapore on July 31, comes from the same studio that gave us blockbusters like The Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, and is the first Marvel film that takes place in outer space.

While Bautista was also visibly emotional when he saw the rapturous welcome by fans last year at San Diego Comic-Con, outward expressions of emotions are still rare for the 45-year-old, who admits that he’s an introvert — something Zoe Saldana, who plays Gamora, agrees with.

“Yes, he’s very shy,” said Saldana, looking bright and fresh despite waking up at 3am for the World Cup game between Argentina and The Netherlands.

Not that it’s a bad thing: Bautista made full use of his quiet nature to survive the long hours in the makeup chair to portray the grey-skinned alien Drax.

“By nature I’m a very zen person so I literally just zoned out,” said Bautista. “And I was cool with it because I like closing my eyes and when I closed my eyes I wasn’t Drax, and when I opened my eyes I was Drax.”

Saldana, however, had a markedly different approach. Sitting in the makeup chair meant she had to busy herself with music or just talking, and the distractions usually worked well to occupy her — except on the days when they had to report to set early.

“It was actually fine, except when they would bring me earlier than when they would bring catering, so you’ll be hungry for like hours before the kitchen was open, and it made me crazy,” said Saldana.

Tying it all this crazy together was director James Gunn, a self-confessed oddball tasked with adapting the group of misfits — which includes a talking racoon and a tree-like humanoid — from a Marvel Comics series for the big screen.

“One of the things about Guardians Of The Galaxy is that it’s about this group of oddballs and outcasts who were plucked from obscurity in Marvel Comics, and I think we all feel like that,” said Gunn. “My last movie cost US$3 million and was an independent film, Dave is a wrestler who(m) people didn’t think of as a real actor, Zoe has been pushed to the sidelines her whole life because she’s a person of colour ... Chris Pratt was a chubby guy who got this role (as Star-Lord).

“You know, Vin Diesel’s a weirdo, Benicio (Del Toro)’s a weirdo and the biggest weirdo of all is Michael Rooker. By far. And we’re just a group of oddballs and outcasts who came together and made this movie and made something we all feel good about.

“And I think through this process we’ve really come to love each other, you hear us all talk about how much we like each other, and I think you hear that in all movies, the thing is — usually they’re lying but this time it’s true,” added Gunn.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy red carpet will be at Shaw Lido on July 12 from 630pm.