Dave Bautista Struggled With WWE Success: “I Was Miserable, And I Was Just Trying To Buy Happiness”

Dave Bautista tried to "buy" happiness when he first found fame.

The wrestler-turned-actor has confessed to wasting his money on buying fancy cars and lavish homes when he first became famous.

In an interview with the November issue of Men's Health UK magazine, he explained: "I wasn't ready for that. I didn't know how to deal with it. So I made all the bad cliche mistakes ... I wasted all that money, and I could've done a lot of good things with that money.

Bautista shot to fame in the WWE, before making the move into Hollywood.

The 52-year-old actor has seen his profile skyrocket in recent years, but he thinks people still have the wrong impression of him.

He said: "I realise what I look like. I joke and say I look like I got out of prison yesterday. But I do. I'm very aware of that.

"So that's why I'll take an extra minute with somebody to show them I'm just not that guy. I may look like that guy, but I'm not that guy."

Bautista has more than a million followers on Twitter, but he admits to having a turbulent relationship with social media.

And although the Guardians of the Galaxy star has considered walking away from the micro-blogging platform, he wants to fight his corner on various social issues.

He said: "I wanted to walk away from Twitter years ago, because it's just such a hostile place ... but I saw what a bad political environment we've come into.

"I stayed on because I want to be an opposing voice to all those a******s who are out here being racists and bigots and polarising our country. So I stayed on to spite them." — BANG SHOWBIZ

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos

Read the full Dave Bautista interview in the November issue of Men's Health UK on sale from October 20. (www.menshealth.com/uk)