When we look into the best actors’ list, Christian Bale is one name that one cannot just miss! From his intense acting to his insane transformation skills, he has continued to solidify his legacy in Hollywood. From his breakout role in American Psycho to gaining global recognition with the Batman trilogy, he has modified his body frame several times.
However, this nearly impacted the Batman trilogy director, Christopher Nolan’s trust especially when he saw his transformation in the $8 million movie, The Machinist.
Christopher Nolan Was Concerned After Watching Christian Bale in The Machinist
Christian Bale went all out to play the role of Trevor Reznik in the 2004 film, The Machinist. To portray his character which he described as “a walking skeleton,” he reduced his weight to 110 pounds. It was a great challenge for anyone but he admitted that it was a great experience for him.
For him to get the desired weight, he starved himself and only consumed black coffee and an apple along with one can of tuna in a day. He also made sure to vitamins and mineral supplements. While he was successful in getting into his character’s body frame, his next project was Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins which featured a ripped caped crusader.
The film director recalled his first meeting with Bale when he was associated with the 2004 project.
“When I first met Christian, he was extraordinarily thin, having lost an enormous amount of weight for The Machinist.”
Even the actor shared a similar remark stating,
“He did call me and say, Well, you know how do you look right now, like, how am I going to seriously be able to suggest to Warner Brothers that you could play Batman ever?”
While Nolan was unsure of whether the former would achieve the superhero’s physique or not, Bale convinced the director with his efforts.
Christian Bale Built Toned Physique for Batman
Going from an insane malnourished 120 pounds to a ripped physique with 220 pounds weight in a couple of months was difficult to accomplish, but he made sure to make it possible! He was told to get “as big as possible”, as he shared,
“Chris Nolan had asked me to try and put on as much weight as I could, because he would find it very difficult to convince the studio to cast me if I was a beanpole.”
While he was successful in gaining weight, he ended up overdoing it.
“I was straight into pizza and ice cream and everything, and just eating five meals in a sitting. My stomach, it just expanded really quickly.”
Bale recalled how the crew reacted when he ended up getting unfit for Batsuit,
“Bloody hell, Chris, what are we doing here, Fatman or Batman?”
Eventually, he lost the excess weight by the time the filming began. His efforts paid off as the movie was a huge success leading to two sequels.
Source: Flixify Youtube
