New on Netflix: Zombie-heist film Army Of The Dead shows different sides of Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista as Scott Ward in Army Of The Dead. Pictures: PA Photo/Netflix
From “badass action guy” to a “father who’s just trying to redeem himself with his daughter”, Army Of The Dead really allows Dave Bautista to demonstrate his range as an actor.
And that was exactly why the Netflix project – directed and co-written by Zack Snyder – appealed to the retired professional wrestler, who we’ve previously seen in the Guardians Of The Galaxy films.
“When this first came to my attention, I wasn’t all that interested, because it was described to me as a zombie-heist film; I thought it was just an action film,” admits the Virginia-born 52-year-old, during a virtual press conference.
“It wasn’t what I was looking for. I was really set out to prove myself as an actor.
“Then it came back around to me. When I found out that Zack was interested in me playing Scott, I read the script. And it was completely different from what I thought it was going to be, and afforded me the opportunity to really show off different sides.”
Army Of The Dead marks Snyder’s return to the zombie genre; memorably, his directorial debut was 2004’s Dawn Of The Dead.
This epic feature follows a group of mercenaries – including Bautista’s character, Scott Ward – who attempt a heist from a vault underneath the famous strip in Las Vegas.
But this is no ordinary mission, because there’s been a zombie outbreak in the city – and the heist takes them right into the quarantine zone.
Under the employment of shady businessman Hunter Bly (Hiroyuki Sanada), the group face plenty of hair-raising moments as they try to survive battling with the undead.
Wisconsin-born Snyder reveals the idea for the film originated from his time working on Dawn Of The Dead, which was a remake of the 1978 George Romero classic.
“I went on this deep dive into genre tropes and, ‘What is a self-aware film?'” elaborates the 55-year-old film-maker, who is also known for Justice League, Wonder Woman and Watchmen.
“When I finished the movie, for a couple years after that, I kept thinking about that conversation, and sort of developed this idea about a zombie plague, where the zombies come from Area 51, and they end up in, and building a wall around, Las Vegas.
“It was really born out of a lot of movies like Escape From New York, the original Planet Of The Apes and Aliens and Die Hard – a lot of these really intense genre films that I grew up on.
“And I was fascinated by the rules of those movies and what an audience will accept as a trope or a preconceived idea… When you make a zombie film, how far will the audience go with us into these worlds?”
Snyder’s wife Deborah (they married in 2004) worked alongside him on Army Of The Dead, as one of the producers. And the 58-year-old New York native reflects on the challenges during filming, explaining how they shot in New Mexico in the middle of the summer.
“We built this giant backlot, and the elements were a challenge when we were there between the heat. Also, it was the monsoon season, so we would constantly get shut down because of the lightning.
“There was actually this scene at the beginning of the movie, which Zack wanted to shoot during dusk… We had to shoot over 15 days, because we only got 15 minutes a day to shoot.”
As the ones in the middle of all the action, you might assume the biggest challenge for the stars of Army Of The Dead would be the physical side of the role.
But then you remember Bautista’s background – as well as his many years in WWE (his last run was in 2018–2019), he’s also a former mixed martial artist and bodybuilder.
“I am an athlete first,” he notes. “That’s where I found my calling and why I was successful in professional wrestling.
“So, it [Army Of The Dead] wasn’t a complete struggle physically, and anything that would become a struggle… I am not embarrassed to admit, if it’s something that’s way over my head, I just call for my stunt double, and he’s perfectly capable of taking care of it.
“My struggle was always performance; that’s still my challenge.”
Bautista reveals that he had been wanting to work with Snyder for years, and then gushes “it was everything I thought it would be – and then some”.
The director made sure all the stars had their moment to shine, he adds.
The cast list includes the likes of Briton Ella Purnell, Georgia-born Omari Hardwick, Mexican actress Ana de la Reguera and Nora Arnezeder, who hails from France.
“Everybody stands out, and everybody’s characters are so strong and portrayed so vividly. It was such a diverse cast.
“It could’ve been a disaster if we had not had such great chemistry. But everybody just melded together really well.” It’s clear too that Snyder is very much a hands-on director.
“We were carrying guns, and he was carrying a camera – it just felt like he was another part of the cast,” recalls Bautista.
“But that was a very special, comforting thing to have him there with us; baking in the sun with us, dirty with us, in the grind with us, which I’ve never experienced before on a film.”
He continues: “I learned a lot. I got an education in directing from Zack, something I’ll take with me and steal when I start making films.”
He laughs at this, but maybe we really should watch this space…
“That’s what we all are, right? We’re students. We learn from people who are better and more experienced than us. And that’s why I’m in this game, that’s why I love it – to learn from the best.”
