"I've been on ice skates a couple of times in my life, and I'm just not good at it. I think I'm an athletic person until you put me on ice, and then I'm all kinds of out of my element.
"Professional wrestling always helps me as far as the action goes, but even that was kind of a new learning process," he says.
The movie is action-packed and full of fight scenes, with plenty of laughs along the way.
Bautista, 50, is undoubtedly good at playing Sophie's loveable father figure, and the on-screen dynamic between the pair is reminiscent of when fellow former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson starred alongside Madison Pettis in 2007's The Game Plan.
When Coleman and Bautista first had chemistry tests for the film, he was nervous about forgetting his lines and admitted it was the 11-year-old that made him step up.
"She's [Coleman] a better actor, and she's also much more professional than I am," he says, seriously.
"I asked her, 'Are you going to be upset with me if I forget my lines?' She said, 'Maybe a little bit.'
"From then on, she was not only responsible for knowing her lines, but she also had to know my lines. And sure enough, she did.
"It's a testament to how professional she is."
Bautista hopes families will be wowed by Coleman and says My Spy is an alternative to the many animated movies targeted at families.
"It's the kind of film I would have liked to have seen as a kid."
• My Spy is in cinemas tomorrow.
