Drew McIntyre On His Character In The Killer’s Game, What He Learned From Dave Bautista

Drew McIntyre recently spoke about his role in The Killer’s Game, learning from Dave Bautista and more. McIntyre plays Rory, a bounty hunter after Bautista’s character in the film, which arrives in theaters today. He spoke with PWInsider for a new interview about the movie, and you can see highlights below:

On acting in the film: “Oh, I mean, that was a little nerve wracking, I guess. I was flying over to Budapest and realizing, ‘oh wow, this is a little outside of my comfort zone’ but I’m going to go in like a sponge. I’m going to listen to those that know better than me and trust that my WWE training and all the years being in front of the camera is going to help me out in this environment. When I stepped on set, I was still nervous. It wasn’t until Dave come up himself, Dave Bautista, and told me, or asked me, ‘Are you nervous?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m very nervous, Dave.’ He said, ‘Well, I’m nervous too.’ How can you be nervous after all this time and all these roles you’ve played, all these big movies you’ve been part of? So that helped relax me. sure enough, as soon as I finally got in front of the camera, no matter how many people were around me, or how big it felt as soon as that red light went on. It’s like the WWE training went right into action. I relaxed instantly and started having so much fun. ”

On his character in the movie: “Rory and Angus McKenzie are a couple of brothers. We are very effective hitman, but we’re the kind of hitman you go to when you need the job done by any means necessary, to get down and dirty. He is Scottish, which is very helpful since I’m actually Scottish. Rory himself is a big, violent, funny hitman who enjoys a drink and yeah, kicking arse. He’s kind of basically like me.”

On what he learned from filming that he used in WWE: “I’ve been asked similar questions today and I really had to think [about whether] I [have] taken things unintentionally, the advice that, you know, JJ, the director, Dave himself, or Scott Adkins, who played my brother…they were really just there constantly giving me advice to think about things in different ways. I guess subconsciously I have been doing that. I know we filmed it right before the character transition with McIntyre. I was back and forth to Budapest doing Raw every week as the character was starting to switch, and I think it helped me step outside of…okay, this sounds cool. This is what we’re doing. Let me look at it from here. Let me look at it from here and all different angles and what’s going to be the most interesting angle that’s going to make people react the most emotionally.”

On what he learned from Bautista on set: “It was cool to see. I mean, from afar, obviously I grew up around Dave. He was a made man when I got to WWE. I was 22, out of my element, making mistakes left and right, and he was one of the few guys who were helping me out and telling me, ‘Hey, you need to know this. Let me point you in the right direction.’ He’s the reason that was part of this movie. So to see a success from afar, be reunited with them and being mentored again by him, but also watching where he’s at now and how effortless he made everything look….I’ve been behind the camera, just watching him in the scenes. I was like, ‘Wow, he’s just so relaxed. He’s just…he is the character. He is Joe Flood” That’s a testament to him betting on himself and the hard work that he’s done, that so many people now, when they hear the name Bautista, they don’t think the wrestler. They think that actor that can basically do it all, like a chameleon. In this movie gets to show, you know, the romantic side of Dave. Let’s say, get the girls a little even more excited about that.”

On his hopes for the coming year: “It’s impossible to say. I just keep on this path. Give it everything I’ve got, and when opportunities present themselves, or somebody gives me the ball, I make sure I score, and it’s just wild to look at the journey. You know, you’ve seen it yourself. Like, ten years ago, I was fired from WWE. 10 years later, I’ve been lucky enough to main event WrestleMania, win the championship a few times, win Rumbles, main event, the Scottish show, the first stadium show 30 years, and now be part of my first movie, it’s just feels like I’m back. I don’t know. I’ve been in a coma perhaps the past 10 years. I’m going to wake up and go, ah, it was all a dream. This doesn’t seem real, but it is and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”