I was terrified: Dave Bautista on auditioning for 'Guardian of the Galaxy'

WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has revealed that it was "nightmare" for him to audition for James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise.

The actor, who essays the role of Drax the Destroyer in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), said the film's audition came at a point when he was broke and desperately needed a job.

"It was a nightmare. I was terrified. I was really desperate at the time. I had hardly worked in three years, and I had gone broke. I had lost all my money from wrestling and I was desperate to get a job. I finally got an agent, like, two weeks before I got the audition for 'Guardians'.

"My agent says 'You know, I really had to fight to get you this audition. It was really hard to get, they didn't really want to audition you. They didn't want to see any pro wrestlers, so I don't want to get your hopes up'," Bautista said during a panel at the Denver Pop Culture Con.

The 50-year-old actor said his agent helped him a lot in understanding the character of Drax and credited casting director Sarah Finn for being patient with him.

"He built my hopes really low, so I went in with low expectations. I didn't understand Drax. I called my acting coach and said 'I don't get this' and he flipped out because he's like the biggest fanboy.

"Anyway, he made me do a little research and I found one picture of Drax, and I said 'That looks like me!' He babied me through this whole process, my first and second auditions, my acting coach came with me, he was holding my hand like a little baby. I read for Sarah Finn; she's amazing. I read with her and she said 'Don't be nervous. Take your time, we can stay here all day'," he added.

Bautista was then asked to audition for Gunn and was selected to play the part. Since then he has reprised his role in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.", "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avenegrs: Endgame". The actor is now gearing up for the third part in the "Guardians..." franchise, to be helmed by Gunn.