Dave Bautista is 6’4″ and weighs over 250 lbs. Daniel Craig, the outgoing James Bond, is just above average height at 5’10” and weighs less than 180 lbs.
The former WWE star and the actor are a total mismatch even for an onscreen fight, but they fought a good one in 2015’s Spectre, trashing most of a train, Craig’s knee, and ultimately, Bautista’s nose.
In the video above of his recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Craig was at his most relatable in describing how he responded to realizing he’d broken the much larger, more powerful man’s nose: “I heard this crack and I was like ‘Oh God no’ and ran away.”
Bautista is so physically imposing he seems like someone you’d run from if you merely stepped on his toe.
Craig was on Norton to promote the upcoming premiere of his final turn as 007 in No Time To Die. He described in amusing detail just how grueling Bond’s fight with Bautista’s deadly henchman character, Mr. Hinx, truly was.
Playing James Bond may be almost as dangerous as being a real special agent. First, after Craig told Bautista he could be rougher in one part of their fight, Bautista obliged—and Craig broke his knee.
Then, though the actor was still in a brace, Craig and Bautista returned to film the scene again. This time it was Bautista’s turn to get hurt:
I didn’t [really punch Bautista] deliberately. Clearly, it was a mistake. Like I said, he’s a big guy, he’s a professional wrestler. You really wouldn’t mess with him.
I threw this punch, I hit him on the nose and I heard this crack. I went, ‘OH GOD NO!’ and ran away because I thought he was gonna come after me.
Dave Bautista, however menacing he seems, apparently knew getting hurt might be part of the job.
Craig said the wrestler-turned-actor “was so sweet, and he literally did something like this…” Craig mimed Bautista resetting his nose.
“I mean, he’s a lot tougher than I am.”
Just resetting your own broken face bones without a medic’s help? That certainly is pretty damn tough.
Daniel Craig shouldn’t sell himself short, however—he took on one of the most physical action roles imaginable into his early 50s and can still walk unaided, last we checked.
No Time To Die, starring Craig, Lea Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, and Lashana Lynch, hits theaters in the U.S. on October 8.