Major MCU Star Had a Cameo on Smallville and No One Noticed
WWE wrestler was the bone marrow munching villain Aldar.
Fans of Smallville might remember the humanoid alien called Aldar who ate bone marrow. But they may not recall who played the part way back in 2006.
And it was none other than Dave Bautista.
A Belated Debut
By then, Bautista was well established in the WWE, although he hadn't been there for very long. Throughout 2005, he had a long-running feud with Triple H that saw his star rise in the world of sports entertainment.
That same year, at the ripe old age of 37, he landed his first acting roles, appearing as a wrestler in the film Relative Strangers and playing Aldar in a single episode of Smallville.
Who was Aldar?
Aldar was an alien who broke out of the Phantom Zone and ended up on Earth. Naturally, a villain played by a WWE wrestler would be strong and violent. Aldar's signature move was to rip out his victims' spinal cords and then feast on their bone marrow.
When asked by Clark Kent why he murdered people so often, he replied, 'Hey, a man's got to eat.'
How did Bautista land the part?
Interestingly, the wrestler-turned-actor says he had no ambition to pursue a career in acting at the time he was cast as Aldar. It was simply something that came as a result of his rise through the ranks of WWE.
Let's face it, he was pretty intimidating when he formed Evolution alongside Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton.
From Smallville to Guardians of the Galaxy
It was another four years before Bautista decided he wanted to move into acting full-time. After a couple of cameos - including appearing in Neighbours – he took a part in the movie Wrong Side of Town playing Big Ronnie alongside Rob Van Dam.
And he got bitten by the acting bug. He subsequently landed roles in The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption and The Man With the Iron Fists before he was cast as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Since then, he's been in major movies including Blade Runner 2049, Dune and Knock at the Cabin. And he's made the occasional appearance back in the ring as a WWE wrestler.
He's still got plenty going on as he's playing J.J. in My Spy: The Eternal City and Joe Flood in The Killer's Game in 2024.