Beneath the hulking and tattooed exterior of Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer is a Robert Downey Jr. fanboy.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 actor is all set to cross paths with Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man in Avengers: Infinity War, and Bautista couldn’t be more excited. As part of Good Morning America’s D23 coverage, the former MMA fighter touched base on Joe and Anthony Russo’s 2018 sequel, including the moment when Drax and Iron Man share the screen for the very first time.
It’ll be a particularly special moment for Dave Bautista, too, who has consistently name-dropped Robert Downey Jr. as a huge inspiration both career-wise and on a personal level, and here, the actor hints at their great chemistry while speaking with GMA.
Robert Downey Jr. has been on a pedestal for me since I was a very young man. I have just always admired him and been a fan. I’ve said for years and years and years that I hoped the crossover would happen, because I thought that Drax would have such great interactions with Tony Stark. It all just came to fruition and actually it’s gonna happen, and it’s good, it’s really good. It’s better than I thought it would ever be. I’m really excited about.
Blending the sarcasm and aloof snark of Iron Man with the very literal Drax is surely a recipe for success, and when GMA quizzed Bautista about their chemistry on the Infinity War set, the Guardians star revealed that the two clicked “immediately.”
Immediately. Here’s the thing is that, I went to the premiere in London of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Robert went out of his way to come and meet me and say how much he loved me in the first [Guardians] film. That meant the world to me, so it put me at kind of an automatic comfort level with him, so as soon as we hit the stage man, there was no pressure or walls there, I just felt like, ‘This guy is very supportive of me.’ I think that’s just him, he’s a very giving actor across the board. But for me personally, I just felt totally at ease with him, and it makes for good chemistry when you’re comfortable with someone.
Avengers: Infinity War launches into theaters on May 4th, 2018. It’s expected to be a part of Marvel’s SDCC showcase, which is supposedly so good it’ll leave our minds blown and tongues wagging. Stay tuned for more.
