10 Times Christian Bale Proved That to Be a True Actor Today You Have to Be a Chameleon
Christian Bale is living proof that actors have a particular skill that we don’t have: they can transform themselves into anything or anyone. Bale is known for his commitment to embodying all types of characters. And by embodying, we’re not speaking figuratively: he can change beyond recognition both in body and soul for the sake of a role. He has played superheroes, villains, and historical figures alike. For example, he lost a ton of weight for The Machinist and, right after that, buffed up to play Batman.
These shocking metamorphoses are truly fantastic, so 5-Minute Crafts decided to review Bale’s career to celebrate his most iconic roles.
Early roles and breakthrough
Christian Bale began his film career at the age of 11 on a television series. Steven Spielberg’s wife took part in the same project. She recommended the young Bale to her husband Steven Spielberg for the lead role in Empire of the Sun. The film was a resounding success and Bale received the Young Artist Award for this work.
The sudden fame that fell on Bale greatly influenced his life and the 13-year-old boy was not ready for this attention. He even thought about quitting acting forever and it took him a few years to get over this.
The return of Christian Bale to big cinema took place in 1989. At that time he was only 15 years old. Kenneth Brana invited him to be in his film Henry V, and although Bale had a small role, he did a great job.
This was followed by the TV movie Treasure Island and the retro musical Newsies. Bale also had parts in several romantic roles in the films Little Women and Portrait of a Lady. The situation changed dramatically in the late ’90s when successful films began to come out one by one starring Christian Bale.
Velvet Goldmine (1998): Christian Bale wants to change.
This is the first film to feature the actor in an unusual role as a journalist trying to chronicle the mysterious disappearance of a fictional glam rock star. Bale himself, in an interview, said that the main reasons for participating in this project were the changes. He was tired of playing in period films where you’d only wear a costume. He added: “I didn’t do it to be mediocre or to please everybody all the time.”
The opportunity to be in a film that many people could not understand at all was a kind of challenge for him. Despite the low box office results, the film was nominated for an Oscar and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
American Psycho (2000): Bale begins to transform his body.
The role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho was the first for which the actor resorted to the transformation of his body. In order to gain the required 180 pounds, Bale worked out 3 hours a day for 6 weeks with a personal trainer. Among other things, he was on a high-protein diet and almost completely abandoned carbohydrates.
Another step toward the image was the dental work that the actor went through to achieve the ideal appearance of the character. Ultimately, Bale managed to create an image of a deranged person who was thoroughly artificial and obsessed with his appearance.
Curiously, many warned Christian Bale that this part could ruin his career. However, everything turned out to be quite the opposite. Bale’s role in this film was a breakthrough and allowed him to move from supporting roles to protagonist status in the coming decades.
The Machinist (2004): Bale drastically loses weight.
The role in the film The Machinist can be called one of the most radical. For the role of insomniac Trevor Reznick, the actor lost 63 pounds in just 4 months and got down to a mere 120 pounds (at 6 feet tall). Every day he ate just one apple and a can of tuna, drank water, and allowed himself one cup of coffee. The result is truly frightening: the film would clearly not even be half as effective if it were not for the image of an emaciated hero.
What’s crazy about this story is that Bale actually wanted to lose even more weight and get to 100 pounds. He was prevented from doing this by the producers.
The Batman Trilogy: Bale pumped up his muscles again.
Gaining muscle for the role of a superhero is a common thing for actors. But here again, the contrast is important: Christian Bale was supposed to appear on the set of Nolan’s Batman Begins just 5 months after The Machinist ended. So, in addition to training in the gym, he had to gain weight. For this, the actor consumed huge quantities of pizza and ice cream. Bale was so carried away by the new “diet” that at some point, he gained more than he needed.
He returned to the role of Batman in 2008. This time, he didn’t have to exhaust himself with workouts because of the Batsuit’s design. However, he still stuck to a balance of lean protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
For the last installment of the trilogy, Bale didn’t have to train as hard either.
Rescue Dawn (2006): From muscled to thinner in one film.
Christian has mastered this technique so well that he has managed to change his body not only from one movie to the other but also within the same movie. For example, in Rescue Dawn, Bale plays pilot Dieter Dengler. According to the plot, his character is captured, organizes an escape, and wanders through the jungle. But in order to portray the emaciated hero, Bale had to lose 55 pounds. Later in the production process, he was able to gradually gain weight back in order to portray the character in different physical forms.
The Fighter (2010): his first Oscar
The role in the film The Fighter can be safely called a landmark in the career of an actor. Despite the supporting role, Bale received his first Oscar for participating in this tape.
In this film, Bale plays a real person — boxer Dicky Eklund, who suffers from bad habits and trains his younger brother. To embody the sickly hero on screen, Christian Bale again lost 30 pounds. Moreover, this time the actor did not follow a special diet. According to Bale himself, he just ran a lot: “I was just running like crazy. I could just run for hours on end, and I felt really healthy.”
In addition to losing weight, Bale spent many hours with the real Dickie Eklund in order to portray him as authentically as possible on the screen.
American Hustle (2013): Bale gains weight (again).
For a role in the comedy-drama American Hustle, Bale again transformed his body. In order to transform into big con artist Irving Rosenfeld, the actor gained over 40 pounds, cut off his hair, and learned to slouch. To achieve the result, Bale, in his own words, ate a lot of donuts, cheeseburgers, and in general, everything in front of him.
Christian got so into his character that Robert De Niro, who met him on the set, at first did not recognize his colleague in the film.
The acting feat did not go unnoticed: the film received 10 Oscar nominations, including one for Christian.
Vice (2018): Bale gains even more weight.
For the role of former Vice President Dick Cheney, the actor not only bleached his eyebrows, shaved his head, and adopted the habits and manner of speech of a real person, but he also gained 45 pounds. The system, according to Bale, was simple — he just ate a lot of pie. In addition, he did special exercises to make his neck seem thicker.
Christian Bale also had to study heart attack prevention in preparation for the role, as Dick Cheney had well-documented heart problems. The actor as a whole carefully studied his prototype — he watched each of his interviews.
The reason the director chose Bale is that Bale is the one who can take his character apart to the smallest detail and then put them back together. And it’s hard to argue with this statement.
Ford v Ferrari (2019): Bale as historical figures
From the outside, it may seem that the actor did not change very much for the role of Ken Miles — here, he looks like the Christian Bale who is more or less familiar to us. But the contrast is important: the fact is that for Ford v Ferrari, Christian had to lose weight immediately after filming the movie Vice. In the end, to become Ken Miles and fit into a narrow race car, Bale lost 70 pounds.
Matt Damon later recalled asking his colleague on set about how he even does it. “And he just looked at me and said: ‘I didn’t eat.’ That guy is cut from a different cloth. He has a monk-like discipline that’s just really impressive to see.”
In preparation for his role, Christian Bale took driving lessons at a driving school founded by a friend of Miles himself. In this way, Bale not only mastered racing tricks but also collected information about the life of his prototype. The actor also contacted the son of the famous race car driver, who later shared: “Christian is the nicest guy on the planet. He wanted to know as much as he could about my father accurately. So I provided him with photographs, articles, books, and even a voice recording, so he could try to portray the part as well as he could.”
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022): Bale is returning to superhero movies (but now as a villain).
One of the actor’s latest parts is the role of the villain Gorr in Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Initially, Bale did not want to take part in this film. After the role of Batman, the actor decided that he was no longer interested in this genre, but his children persuaded him.
As a result, for this role, the actor received praise from critics, who considered him “grounded and non-campy.” And Taika Waititi said that Bale turned out to be the coolest villain hero in the Marvel Universe.
Which Christian Bale transformation surprised you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments!