Dave Bautista (53) apparently says goodbye to his "Guardians of the Galaxy" role with pleasure. The actor has now declared it is a "relief" to be able to break up with Drax. In the future he wants to focus on more dramatic roles, said the 53-year-old, who can currently be seen in the Netflix hit "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery", in an interview with "GQ" magazine.

The film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which hits theaters in May, will be his final appearance as the Marvel character Drax. "I am so grateful to Drax. I love him." But he feels "relief" that it's over, says Bautista: "It wasn't all pleasant," he revealed in the "GQ" interview. "It was hard to play that role. The makeup process was killing me." Bautista added: "And I just don't know if I want Drax to be my legacy - it's a silly performance and I want to do more dramatic stuff."

The former wrestler also stated that he's not interested in fame or awards. He wants to further improve his acting skills and do interesting projects. "I never wanted to be the next rock," he said, referring to Dwayne Johnson, 50, who also made the leap from wrestling to Hollywood. "I just want to be a damn fine actor. A respected actor."

Bautista portrayed Drax on Guardians of the Galaxy for nearly a decade, most recently in the series' Christmas special for the Disney streaming service. The actor will soon be seen in the thriller "Knock at the Cabin" (from February) and in Denis Villeneuve's (55) "Dune" sequel, the film is scheduled for release in autumn. He already worked with the director in the first part of 2021 and on "Blade Runner 2049".