Dave Bautista Looks Jacked While Working Out Behind the Scenes of 'Guardians 3'

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Dave Bautista Looks Jacked on Set of 'Guardians 3'Mike Marsland - Getty Images

After gaining weight in order to play horror movie villain Leonard in M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin earlier this year, Dave Bautista is back in superhero shape. The wrestler-turned-actor recently shared a photo from one of his on-set workouts while filming Marvel sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, in which he reprises the role of Drax the Destroyer, possibly for the final time—and his jacked arms and physique are on full display.

As an action star with roles in some of the biggest franchises right now (he can boast a credit in Denis Villeneuve's Dune as well as the MCU), you'd fully expect the former WWE champion to be swole as all hell—but the way Bautista tells it, his primary goal for working out is to support his own mental health. He has spoken frankly about how finding a passion for bodybuilding "saved his life" as a younger man, and how working out is "therapeutic" for him.

"Me looking the way I do is really just kind of a by-product of that," he told Men's Health. "I’m not consumed about like, ‘Oh I can bench, like, 500 pounds; I can deadlift 800 pounds.’ I’m not that guy at all. I’d rather watch someone else deadlift than do it myself. I’d rather be boxing or doing some type of interesting cardio like cycling. I’d rather be working with a trainer and keeping it fresh."

While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 doesn't hit theaters until May 5 next year, you can catch Bautista in the meantime on Disney+ in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and on Netflix in the whodunnit sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery opposite Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monae and Kate Hudson from December 23.

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