Hollywood is such a wild place, because a big star can come from anywhere. Sometimes it’s via a traditional theatre route like Morgan Freeman. Sometimes you stumble upon it while trying to get extra points in a class, like Samuel L. Jackson. But, other times you transition into it after a successful WWE career, like Dave Bautista. No matter what, there are a few rules actors learn on the job. For Bautista, apparently, he was taught one of said key lessons from Jackson while filming the upcoming movie Afterburn.
Dave Bautista recently starred in one of the latest projects on the 2024 movie schedule, The Killer’s Game, which had him teaming up with director J.J. Perry. Coming up next, Bautista and Perry are working together again on Afterburn, which is a post-apocalyptic action flick that is also one of Samuel L. Jackson’s upcoming movies. When the Guardians of the Galaxy actor recently spoke about his career and working with Jackson, he said this:
Oh, it was every film after Wrong Side Of Town. I had a purpose at that point. I left wrestling with the intention to pursue acting. So, every set I walked on, I took it very seriously even if they weren’t the best films, or they weren’t the best parts. I was there to learn up until the films I’m doing now. Like I just recently, with the help of Sam Jackson, learned how to hit my mark.
The AV Club interviewer was understandably taken aback by Bautista’s claims that he had just learned how to hit his mark. He explained in greater detail by saying this:
There’s like two rules in acting: You hit your mark, and you say your line. I, typically, can never remember a line and I never hit my mark. [Laughs.] If I hit my mark, I do a celebration dance and I make sure everybody is aware that I hit my mark. Recently [on Afterburn], I was struggling to hit my mark. The shot was very camera dependent so I needed to hit my mark and I kept missing my mark. I walked into this room and I was handing Sam Jackson something. He said, ‘Look, man, you got that in your hand. Just pretend like you’re looking down at it but find your mark and hand it to me.’ So, I walked in and just pretended like I was looking down at it and I hit my mark! He said, ‘See?’ I said, ‘Man, I’m gonna have something in my hand on every film from now on.’
If you’re going to learn a major rule of acting, why not learn from one of the best? Samuel L. Jackson has over 200 credits to his name, and that includes some of the best movies of the ’90s, ’00s and ’10s as well as some of the biggest box office hits. Plus, Jackson has played some of the coolest characters around. So, he’s been up and around the block when it comes to hitting one’s mark and doing it well many, many times. And this story reiterates his professionalism and sharpness on sets.
Per Bautista’s comments, he’s been committed to being an actor since back in 2010 when he starred in his first film, Wrong Side Of Town. It would take a few years, but he really became a big name in Hollywood when he landed a role in the Guardians of the Galaxy cast as Drax the Destroyer. Since then, he’s been in all sorts of high-profile movies, from the James Bond installment Spectre to Blade Runner 2049 to Dune.
It is kind of wild to think that after all the work he’s done as an actor, it was only recently that he learned how to hit a mark. However, it sounds like it was a sweet moment between Bautista and Jackson.
As audience members, we are often immersed in whatever story actors are trying to tell us. However, for the actor it’s often about being in the right place the director needs you to be, and Dave Bautista has mastered that craft with the help of a master.