Former WWE Star Dave Bautista Addresses Dramatic Weight Loss

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Former WWE star and current Hollywood actor Dave Bautista has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last two years, with roughly 75 pounds shed. Recently, Bautista addressed his weight loss in a pair of interviews for Chris Van Vliet.

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Currently, Bautista stands at 240 pounds — a number he says he hasn't seen since he was 19 years old. Flash back to the spring of 2022, Bautista weighed about 315 pounds during the filming of M. Night Shyamalan's "Knock at the Cabin" film. According to Bautista, this number came about in an attempt to fit the mold of what he thought Shyamalan wanted his character to look like in the respective film.

"I got really big for a role, and it was uncomfortable. 'Knock at the Cabin,' I got really big, and I was around 315 pounds. I put the weight on really fast. This, I had to put on between films. I had a very short period of time to put on this weight. I packed it on with French fries and pancakes," Bautista said.

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"The director said, 'I didn't want you to look like a powerlifter, I just want you to look like a great big guy.' So now, looking back at it, I probably overdid it. I was probably a little too big, but at the time, I was just thinking, 'I've got to get big. I've got to get big.' I put on an uncomfortable amount of weight, and it took me to forever to shed it off."

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In "Knock at the Cabin," Bautista portrayed Leonard, one of the four mysterious strangers sent to warn a family about a forthcoming apocalypse. In the present day, Bautista is doing promotional work for his starring role as Joe Flood in "The Killer's Game," which also features former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. Amidst this, Bautista is also continuing to refine his physique.

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"I noticed the more I trimmed down, the better I felt," Bautista said. "I also noticed the more I trimmed down, the better I looked on camera, next to other actors. Even at this weight, people say things like, 'God, you're skinny!' I even saw online that some people are worried about my health. And when I say it out loud, 'I'm six-foot-four and 240 pounds,' it sounds like I'm a big person. But to me, because people have seen me much bigger over the years, they think I'm anorexic, but I'm just a large human being."

Despite now standing at six-foot-four and 240 pounds, Bautista admitted that he still sometimes feels like a distraction when standing next to the "typical" actor. As such, he is now restricting his calorie intake until he reaches his desired weight goal. The exact value of that weight goal was not disclosed, although Bautista noted that he intends to lose "a few more pounds."  

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"I'm training hard, not training hard, but my calories are pretty restricted, maybe 2,500 calories a day," Bautista said. "For me, it's like nothing. I'm just not eating much. I'm not starving or anything, but I intermittent fast. I haven't eaten yet, and it's almost 1:00 PM. I typically don't eat for three to four hours before bed, so it's a short window."

During his full-time WWE career (2000-2010), Bautista's frame broadly ranged between 275 and 325 pounds, with the latter stemming from his five-month run as Deacon Batista alongside Reverend D-Von in 2002. From there, Batista recalls the remainder of his in-ring career, which saw him morph into "The Animal," hovering around the 290-pound mark. Bautista eventually left WWE in the spring of 2010, subsequently pursuing a full-time career in television and film acting.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.