Wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista is covered in tattoos. This week, GQ released a video of the actor talking through his inkwork. It included a tattoo Bautista has on his thigh of an Irish actor that he admits feeling a “little embarrassed” about.
Bautista also revealed he had one tattoo covered up because it was linked to someone who subsequently expressed homophobia. Bautista is a staunch LGBTQ ally. He spoken before about his lesbian mom.
But first… that awkward tattoo.
Bautista said that he saw a photo of Cillian Murphy as the character Thomas Shelby.
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“I found this really cool picture that I love and I always wanted to do this,’ Bautista explained, pulling up his shorts to show the prominent tattoo on his thigh. “‘Gentleman Hooligan’. ‘Cause it kind of always felt like who I was.”
“I found this cool picture and it was of Cillian Murphy from Peaky Blinders,” he continued, “and I asked John [his tattooist] to alter it so it didn’t look so much like Cillian Murphy. And I got it and I thought okay that doesn’t look exactly like I have a tattoo of Cillian Murphy on my thigh.”
The problem? To most casual observers, it still clearly looked like Cillian Murphy.
“The first time I posted it on my social media, all I got was, ‘Oh my God. You’ve got a tattoo of Cillian Murphy’,”’ Bautista said.
“Well, yeah I guess I do,” he confirmed with a chuckle. He added that he was a “fan” of the 46-year-old Irish man.
“So, you know, a little embarrassed but not ashamed. So Cillian, there you go. Your face is tattooed on my thigh.”
Dave Bautista covered up a tattoo as it reminds him of homophobic, former friend
About the tattoo he had covered up, Bautista pointed to some inkwork on his inner arm.
“This one used to be a team logo, I was part of a team of a person I considered a friend and someone I really looked up to,” he explained.
“And then he later came out publicly with some anti-gay statements and turned out to be an extreme homophobe.”
Bautista said, “I had a huge issue with it – it’s a personal issue with me, my mom’s a lesbian – and I could no longer call him a friend so I had it covered up with this.”
He indicates a day-of-the dead-inspired woman’s face.
Related: Dave Bautista’s Pride Month message: “F**k you if you don’t like it”
Watch Bautista talk through his tattoos below.
Related: Gay dads are terrorized in the second, creepy trailer for ‘Knock At The Cabin’
Besides featuring Glass Onion, Bautista will be seen soon in M. Night Shyamalan’s horror flick, Knock At The Cabin. He plays the leader of a gang who holds a pair of gay dads and their daughter hostage in a secluded cabin. The dads are told they must make the ultimate sacrifice to avert the apocalypse. Watch the trailer below.
bachy
I’m guessing he’s one of those straight guys who would make an exception for (notably feminine-looking) Cillian Murphy. It’s all good, Dave!
Laughing Reader
I love you Dave Bautista!! A sexy ally.. keep wearing those speedos!
Kangol2
I’m a fan of Dave’s and here’s a word of wisdom for him: no more tattoos if you can help yourself. The ones you have a fine, especially now that you’ve covered up the homophobes’ faces, but you’ve got enough for a few lifetimes!