Dave Bautista recently addressed his striking body transformation, which left some fans raising eyebrows over his leaner appearance.
The 55-year-old former WWE superstar has come a long way since his days in the wrestling ring, where his massive frame made him a force to be reckoned with.
Known simply as 'Batista' during his wrestling years, he decided to focus only on his acting career but was adamant about not being typecast as one of the "big, dumb muscle-heads" in movies.
Highlights
- Dave Bautista shocked fans with a leaner look at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- He revealed he’s the lightest he’s been since he was 19, now weighing around 240 lbs.
- Bautista shed around 75 lbs in a year and a half through a strict diet and jiu-jitsu.
- Despite switching to a mostly vegan diet, he still struggles to shed weight in certain areas.
Earlier this month, he surprised fans with his trimmed-down appearance at the premiere of his new movie, The Last Showgirl, at the Toronto International Film Festival.
At 55, former WWE superstar Dave Bautista flaunted a dramatically leaner look during a recent red carpet event
Image credits: Kayla Oaddams / Getty Images
Image credits: Dave Bautista / Instagram
"I'm getting super trimmed; this is probably the lightest I've been since I was 19," he said during a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet.
"The heaviest I've ever been is 370 lbs. When I started Deacon, I was about 325 lbs. Throughout most of my wrestling career, I was about 290 lbs," he continued.
The former WWE powerhouse said he was able to shed about 75 lb in a year and a half.
“Now, I'm around 240 lbs. A year and a half ago, for Knock at the Cabin, I weighed 315 lbs., and that's when the challenge of losing weight began. Now, I'm very particular about my diet."
The actor, who used to be one of the biggest men in Hollywood, previously revealed that he has a primarily plant-based diet.
Fans were surprised to see his trimmed-down physique at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, The Last Showgirl
While speaking to Men’s Health last year, he described himself as “mostly vegan” and hoped to eventually go completely vegan.
“I eat as clean as possible. I was eating mostly vegan, except for eggs because I couldn’t give them up for breakfast,” he told the outlet.
He said he would add fish into his meals twice a week for protein and added, “I play with my diet a lot. During the day, I am all protein and fats. And then at night, I’ll usually have one very low-carb meal."
The half-Filipino actor said giving up his favorite Filipino dish of chicken adobo was one of the hardest parts of turning vegan.
“I grew up on chicken adobo, it’s one of the few dishes that I make constantly,” he said. “I make it for myself, I make it for my friends. Now I still make it for my friends, but I have to just sit there and watch them eat it, and it’s torture.”
In addition to his diet, he also revealed that he took up jiu-jitsu as part of his weight-loss transformation.
The man behind 'Batista' said he switched to a plant-based diet and took up jiu-jitsu as part of his renewed focus on his body
Image credits: Dave Bautista / Instagram
Image credits: Dave Bautista / Instagram
“I put on all this weight for Knock at the Cabin. I was really big, like over 300 lbs.,” he said in a July episode of LIVE with Kelly and Mark.
“I was struggling to lose the weight, so I brought a trainer — my buddy Jason Manly — over to Budapest with me while I was filming Dune,” he continued.
“[We] did nothing but grapple, like for hours. And so I started shedding the weight off and I figured ‘I’ll just stick with it so I’ll get my brown belt,’” he said.
The Hollywood star admitted that no matter what he does, there are few spots where he just can’t lose weight.
“I was trimming down, and I’ve sacrificed a lot of muscle. But I’m okay with it, because I just feel more comfortable,” he told hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. “ ... There were just certain spots that no matter how much weight I lost that I couldn’t get rid of it."
“I eat as clean as possible. I was eating mostly vegan, except for eggs because I couldn’t give them up for breakfast,” he said in an interview last year
“This little bit here,” he said as he pointed to his stomach, “and even under here,” he added, pointing to his chest.
“Even in my face, like, I was just holding on to fat," he added. “When I was younger I would just shed it like that. I could not get rid of it."
As he focused more on his acting career, Dave made the conscious decision of trying to choose roles that were “interesting and multi-layered.”
"When I first got into acting, everybody wanted these big, dumb muscle-heads. I really fought it," he told Digital Spy in 2017.
The wrestling legend-turned-actor said he did not want to play "big, dumb muscle-heads" in movies and wanted to play characters that are "multi-layered"
Image credits: Dave Bautista / Instagram
"I turned down a lot of roles because I didn't want to be typecast as that guy,” he added. “I wanted to do characters who are, you know, interesting and multi-layered."
Not all social media users were able to appreciate his renewed focus on his body, with one recently asking: “Dafuk happend to you.”
“He most definitely looks sick,” another said, while a third wrote, “Hollyweird claimed another victim.”
“Scary looking,” read another comment. “Too much weight loss too fast. It doesn’t look healthy. I hope Dave you’re ok.”