Dave Bautista says "I always look to Clint Eastwood" when approaching a western role: "He's always going to be my gold standard"

Dave Bautista has just checked playing a cowboy off his bucket list as the star takes on the role of weary wanderer Boyce in the upcoming fantasy-western movie In the Lost Lands – a character that he says is heavily inspired by genre icon Clint Eastwood.

"I always look to Clint Eastwood," says Bautista to 12DOVE when asked if he was inspired by any western actors when approaching the new movie. "You know, I love Clint Eastwood. When I think about cowboys, when I think about westerns, I think Clint Eastwood"

In the movie, Bautista plays the cowboy hat-wearing pistol-wielding brawny wanderer Boyce, tasked with venturing into the Lost Lands. But as we get to know the quiet type, it becomes apparent that the character "clearly [mimics] Clint Eastwood's demeanor as a cowboy," as Bautista puts it.

"He was a man of few words. I like that," says Bautista of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly star. "Clint Eastwood acts with his eyes. He's a very subtle actor who doesn't have to do much with his body to convey a lot. And so as far as you know, cowboys go, Westerns go, he's always going to be my gold standard."

Although In the Lost Lands isn't your typical gun-slinging cowboy flick as it mixes multiple genres and includes many fantasy and horror tropes such as witches and werewolves, director Paul W.S. Anderson could see that the movie had western attributes as soon as he got his hands on the story. "I had also wanted to make a Western for a long time, so this was a great opportunity for me to kind of indulge in that," adds the helmer. "And I know Dave really appreciated that as well."

Based on the short story of the same name by Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin, In the Lost Lands follows a witch named Grey Alys (Milla Jovovich) who is sent by a queen to the Lost Lands in search of a magical power that can turn a human into a werewolf. Guided by drifter Boyce, the sorceress must outwit and outfight man and demon to deliver what she has promised.

In the Lost Lands hits theaters on March 7. For more, check out our list of the best fantasy movies, or keep up with upcoming movies heading your way.