Before Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax played the villain against Superman

After his debut in the MCU, Dave Bautista’s career took off: it is true that the actor attracted the attention of such great directors as M. Night Shyamalan, Zack Snyder and Denis Villeneuve. But do you know what the wrestling star’s first role was? Long before the good graces of Marvel and James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy, Dave Bautista Play as a villain from the DC universe!

Like fellow wrestler Dwayne Johnson, it was his physical prowess that caught the attention of those in charge of Smallville and landed him a small role in the hit 2000s TV series that chronicled the youth of Clark Kent (Tom Welling).

In Season 8 Episode 6, titled “High Frequency,” Dave Bautista Plays Aldar, Superman’s nemesis and Kryptonian villain on the run from the Phantom Zone: a role that fits him like a glove thanks to his colossal size.

Watch him in this role in the clip below:

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His brief stint may not have allowed him to showcase his acting skills, but it did allow him to prove his skills in combat simulation. However, this appearance launched his career in Hollywood, although the actor himself did not imagine what success he would later achieve.

“My work on Smallville was another thing I got from WWE. At that moment I had absolutely no aspirations to become an actor– he said in an interview with Wired. Later, in 2010, the desire to blossom into acting came to him with the film Forbidden Banlieu, in which he played a more sophisticated role.

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His career has taken a real turn since then, and he’s now the lovable Drax Guardians of the GalaxyAs well as the excellent Gloss Rabanne from Dune, a role in which we can find him on February 28 in the second part of the saga, led by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.

Meanwhile, Smallville can still be seen in its entirety on Prime Video.

Also watch the Dune: Part II trailer below: