Dave Bautista Is Finally Getting His Rom-Com: After Viral Comments, “I Started Getting a Lot of Phone Calls”

After Dave Bautista‘s public comments last year wondering why he’d never been offered a rom-com, it seems the tides are finally turning.

In January 2023, Bautista told Page Six that he’d love to be in a romantic comedy but had never gotten the opportunity, and wondered, “Am I that unattractive? Is there something that unappealing about me that excludes me from these parts?”

At the Los Angeles premiere of his new movie The Killer’s Game on Monday, Bautista told The Hollywood Reporter that those viral comments “sparked quite a conversation, but I started getting a lot of phone calls after that.”

“I said that and started getting calls immediately. So we’ve got a couple that we’re developing that are actually really funny,” he said, noting that he’s now “making my way there, like a full-on rom-com. Not like an action rom-com, a full-on rom-com.”

Bautista makes his first entry into that territory with The Killer’s Game, in which he stars as an assassin diagnosed with a life-threatening illness who authorizes a kill on himself, only to find out he was misdiagnosed and has to fight off an army of hit men. His character also has a romance with a woman played by Sofia Boutella, marking his first time as a leading man with a love interest.

“It was nerve-wracking for me; I’m hoping people receive it well, still a little self-conscious about it. It was a challenge that I wanted, I accepted,” Bautista said of taking on the role. “It was a couple of years ago where I said to myself I need to stop taking so many supporting roles, and I need to seek out lead roles, even if I have to create lead roles for myself. I heard Mahershala Ali years ago saying that’s what he did; he said look, he had to start turning down supporting roles if he ever wanted to be a lead. And I do want to be a lead, that’s the way you progress in this business, and you don’t grow if you’re constantly taking supporting roles. You’re not going to become a bigger star, and my whole goal is to become a bigger star.”

He continued, “It’s funny, I want to be a bigger star so I can make smaller films, that’s my goal. Those are the films I love. But the fastest route to that is being a commodity; if you’re a big star, you’re a commodity. So that’s the thing — people are willing to listen to you, they’re willing to hear you out if you can bring something to the table, and you bring something to the table when you’re a big star. So, I’m hoping that I can grow my name and become enough of a star where I can make smaller independent films.”

Boutella, who had previously worked with Bautista on Hotel Artemis, said of watching her friend transform into a romantic lead, “I think it’s relatable, and why not? He’s great at it, I found him very touching in the film.” Pom Klementieff, who also previously teamed up with Bautista for the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, added the new movie lets the audience “see so many colors of his acting palate… It’s beautiful to see a softer side of him and something cuter and more emotional and beautiful like that.”

The Killer’s Game hits theaters on Friday.