It Took Dave Bautista 3 Secret Meetings to Get This Role

Dave Bautista has appeared in films like Glass Onion and Guardians of the Galaxy, but the pro-wrestler-turned-actor has plenty of major surprises up his sleeve for fans of the horror genre. His latest movie, Knock at the Cabin, unites the star with the acclaimed and controversial director M. Night Shyamalan for a film that many critics are praising as daring and innovative. Bautista campaigned hard for his role in Knock at the Cabin, revealing recently in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that he endured a series of top-secret meetings with the director before he was able to get confirmation that he landed the part.

Dave Bautista has a prime role in ‘Knock at the Cabin’

Shyamalan’s new film, Knock at the Cabin, features a star-studded cast, including Bautista, Rupert Grint, Jonathan Groff, and Ben Aldridge. The apocalyptic horror film tells the story of four strangers, who show up at a family’s cabin to demand that one of the family members be sacrificed in order to avoid worldwide catastrophe. As the leader of the band of strangers, Bautista is able to utilize his intimidating physical presence to his benefit — but the creepy character of Leonard is unlike anyone else that Bautista has portrayed thus far in his acting career.

Bautista has since noted that Knock at the Cabin is his most challenging role to date — but he has also said that he bent over backward for the chance to work with the legendary Shyamalan.

What did Dave Bautista say about his secret meetings with M. Night Shyamalan?

In a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon, Bautista opened up about what he went through in order to land the role of Leonard, noting that he spoke with Shyamalan directly multiple times before the director cast him.

“I fanboyed for about an hour,” Bautista said of his initial conversation with Shyamalan. “That’s what it was. That’s what our call was. And then I was expecting him to tell me about something. I’m waiting for it, and waiting for it, and it never came. He said, ‘Okay. Well, it was great talking to you,’ and I got off the call and I had to call my agents and say, ‘He didn’t mention anything.'”

In fact, it wasn’t until a third phone call that Bautista was able to get Shyamalan to send him the script for Knock at the Cabin: “I called him and said, ‘I’d kill for this role. What do I have to do? Who do I have to kill for this role?’ and he said, ‘You don’t have to kill anybody. You don’t have to do anything. I want you for this role.'” For Bautista, the third of his “secret meetings” proved to be the charm.

What are critics saying about ‘Knock at the Cabin’?

Knock at the Cabin was released in early February 2023, and so far, it has received solid reviews from critics and fans. On the review site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 68% on the Tomatometer, along with a 65% audience score. While critical reviews are quite mixed, many consistently praise Bautista’s work in the movie, and a number claim that the film is “upper-tier” Shyamalan. “It doesn’t bring everything together, but this is still Shyamalan operating at a high level again,” one review said.

Another noted that “‘Knock At The Cabin’ is a taut, tense and devastating movie that immediately belongs near the top of Shyamalan’s best.” Fans who want to judge for themselves can catch Knock at the Cabin in theaters now!