Dave Bautista Opens up About His Anxiety

Dave Bautista is opening up about his struggles with social anxiety. Speaking with his My Spy: The Eternal City co-star Chloe Coleman for an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actor and WWE Superstar got candid about his mental health, reflecting on his struggles throughout high school and how he learned to “own it.”

According to the Hollywood star, 55, his struggles with anxiety began in high school, where he described himself as “such a misfit” and “such an introvert. I just didn’t know where I fit in.” Although he was “naturally athletic,” Bautista said he “didn’t grow up with sports. I didn’t know how to play sports.” While Bautista fell into wrestling when he was a junior in high school, he said that on the “inside I was a performer.” However, his dreams to perform were hindered by the fact that he was “such an introvert.”

“I couldn’t get out of my shell and perform,” he said. “I was always mesmerized by the theater kids. I thought they were magical and I wanted to be one of those kids if I just wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t timid, but I was just introverted and shy and self-conscious… I think it was in my nature.”

Although Bautista eventually went on to become a pro-wrestler-turned-actor, not only winning World Championships, but also appearing in films such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, he said he still struggles with anxiety. However, it is something he has learned to “own.”

“When I was older I just became OK with it. I became alright. used to be embarrassed to say I had social anxiety. I was uncomfortable being close by a lot of people. As I was getting older I was OK with it. I wish I discovered that earlier. I wish I was OK with myself at a younger age,” he said. “I would love to say, ‘I’m not going to be self-conscious today. I’m gonna go to this red carpet premiere and I’m not going to have anxiety.’ It’s something that’s uncontrollable. Now I know I’m gonna be uncomfortable and I own it. I just wish I could do that when I was younger.”

The actor now has his sights set on an all-new career path: director. He told Coleman in the ET interview that while he’s “still very passionate about acting,” he said he’s “setting my sights on directing… I’m a total control freak, so I want to direct. I want to direct performances and I want to make my own film.”