Dave Bautista Says Shooting Spectre Was A Nightmare

When the 24th entry in the James Bond franchise was released in 2015, Spectre was arguably one of the most hotly-anticipated installments in the long and illustrious history of the series. After all, Sam Mendes was returning to the fold for a second consecutive globetrotting blockbuster after Skyfall, which hauled in over $1.1 billion at the box office and almost instantly found itself labeled as one of 007’s very best big screen outings.

The sequel sought to raise the stakes even higher by casting Christoph Waltz in a mystery role that was never confirmed but everybody knew was Blofeld anyway, while the title itself teased the reintroduction of the nefarious organization that had been a thorn in the side of Bond during his earlier days, and the hulking Dave Bautista was brought in as Mr. Hinx, the first old school henchman we’d seen in a long time.

Cut from the same classic cloth as the likes of Oddjob, Jaws, Tee Hee and Nick Nack, Hinx was a hulking wordless brute who for some reason had a preference for wearing metallic fingernails that he would use to gouge out the eyeballs of those who got in his way. It was a fun role that gave the former professional wrestler the chance to join one of the biggest brands in the history of cinema, but in a new interview, he revealed that the production schedule was a nightmare.

“It’s just stressful. It’s just long days. Logistically, it’s a nightmare. You’re just moving from country to country to country. It’s just a long and slow process. I think Spectre shot for almost a year. My role wasn’t extensive, but I was on the film for eight months. So it’s just a long, long process.”

It’s not as though Bautista is being ungrateful, but you can imagine the frustrations of spending eight months working on Spectre, a film that runs for 148 minutes, and at the end of the day you’re left with a handful of scenes, one major action beat and not a single line of dialogue to show for it.