Batista Discusses Hulk Hogan Asking If Him If He Was Making Fun of Him In His Promos, Playing An Ex-Wrestler On HBO’s Room 104

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Batista discussed playing an ex-wrestler in an upcoming episode of HBO’s Room 104, and also talked about how he used to be so terrified of cutting wrestling promos, he’d channel Hulk Hogan, leading to Hogan asking him if he was making fun of him. His comments are below.

On initially not wanting to play an ex-wrestler in an episode of Room 104: “When my agent told me it was a professional wrestling themed episode, I said, ‘Not a shot in hell.’ I’ve worked really hard to separate these two worlds.”

“One of my agents, Ryan Abboushi, said to me, ‘Just read the episode—it’s exactly what you’ve been looking for, it’s exactly what we’ve been talking about.’ I read the script and I was blown away. It wasn’t what I thought it was. It was deep and rich and emotional.”

On proving himself as an actor: “This has not been the path of least resistance, it’s been a tough route. I’ve really pursued roles that are actor’s pieces, and I’ve turned down a lot of roles that would have made me a lot of money, action roles that would have been better suited for me as an ex-wrestler. Those are the roles most people expected me to take, but I’ve chosen to go the unexpected route to prove myself as an actor. I feel like people expect less from a wrestler-turned-actor, but I’ve always wanted to be a serious actor.”

On channeling Hulk Hogan in his early promos and how Hogan asked him if he was making fun of him: “Since the beginning of my wrestling career, I was so terrified to be on the microphone, so I’d subconsciously channel a bit of Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man. Even when filming Room 104, and it isn’t intentional, that’s who I channel. That is my first childhood connection to professional wrestling. I remember I did this interview years ago where it came across like I was doing this impersonation of Hulk Hogan. It wasn’t my intent but that’s the way it came off, and I remember saying, ‘This just isn’t me. I’m just not that guy.’ I later saw Hogan at a show and he asked if I was making fun of him. I said no, I didn’t mean that at all. That’s just my first connection to professional wrestling. They did promos a certain way, and it still impacts my work.”