David Bautista is currently one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. He got his start in WWE wrestling but transitioned to a serious acting career. His first major big role was none other than the Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy as Drax. Since then, he has built an impressive filmography including Spectre, Blade Runner 2049, Dune, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Outside of being a Hollywood star, David Bautista is also a tattoo fanatic! He is covered from neck to foot with tattoos. One of the tattoos he had since his early career is a Chinese tattoo on his left arm.
If you look closely at the picture above, you will see 2 Chinese characters in red ink and black borders that read 天使. In Chinese, it means “Angel”, and just like it’s English counterpart, it is not gender-specific and David can, and probably does, designate its significance to whoever he wishes. Here is the stylized form in plain background:
As always, let’s break down the exact composition of the Chinese tattoo:
天 This means “sky” or “heaven” in Chinese
使 Typically this word is used as a verb to mean “use” or “utilize”. In this situation, it has more appropriate meaning “agent” or “ambassador”
So, together with the word “heaven”, the Chinese meaning of 天使 is “heavenly agent” or “angel”. This is extremely fitting as David is widely known as a gentle soul in the body of a tough guy. Being of mixed Filipino heritage, we are proud to see David as part of increasing representation of Asian Americans in the film industry.
But wait, if Bautista is covered in tattoos, the left arm Angel tattoo can’t be the only one, correct?
You’re exactly right, his right arm does have a small, and much less conspicuous tattoo in Chinese:
The Chinese character that means “martial arts”, or any art related to the military or fighting. Let’s take a look:
武 is pronounced “Wu” and is the central meaning of the phrase “Wushu” 武術, which is a all encompassing term for “martial arts”. Back in the day in imperial China, many people had aspirations to work for the empire in two broad capacities:
- You are either a scholar, with a character 文, which means words or literature, or
- You are a warrior and a lifelong learner of martial discipline, this is characterized by Bautista’s 武 character
Here is another look at his right arm with a different angle on David Bautista:
This makes perfect sense as David is a enthusiast in martial arts. Not only is he trained as a wrestler, he is a purple belt under Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In fact, he did have a brief career in MMA with only one official fight on record in 2012. He did win it by technical knockout.
As we have mentioned, David Bautista is a man of many talents. The multitude of his career phases is a testament to that. His Chinese tattoos suit both his personality and life journey, and we are excited to see what he does next!