Every comic book fan as well as a movie buff who is well-versed in their area of expertise will collectively agree that when filmmaker Christopher Nolan created The Dark Knight trilogy, it was something truly special in regards to a superhero film. Even after more than a decade since its conclusion, the series is widely regarded as one of, if not the best, that superhero cinema had to offer.
One of the hands in making this series such an icon was the exceptional performance of Christian Bale as the titular protagonist. But at the same time, Nolan had little faith in the appeal of the star when he would pitch him to WB for the sole reason that he didn’t look the part, especially since he had just dropped almost all of his weight for his then-upcoming film The Machinist.
Christopher Nolan Didn’t Know How He Would Cast Christian Bale In Batman Begins As He Was Very Skinny
To play the part of a superhero, you have to first look like a superhero for the camera, which is kind of the norm these days in the film industry. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Christian Bale had to get his body in top shape if he was to become Batman in the first film of the iconic The Dark Knight trilogy.
But this was a feat easier said than done back then, as during the time when director Christopher Nolan met the star to talk about his role in Batman Begins, Bale was shooting for another one of his projects titled The Machinist. As many might already know, this was the film where to prepare for his character, the star underwent a ghastly weight-loss program, which by the end, barely left any muscle on his body (via FlixifyYT).
Thus, if Bale didn’t look the part, then it would be hard to pitch him for the lead role of the titular superhero for the Oppenheimer director. But despite this seeming like an impossible task to take on, after the completion of his role on the sets, the American Psycho star went into overdrive to pack as much muscle as he could and shape himself up for the role of Bruce Wayne in the filmmaker’s project.
Sure enough, with enough hard work and perseverance, the star managed to bag the role in the series, and the rest is history.
What Was The Machinist About?
Due to his love for method acting to get into his character, to depict a malnourished individual in The Machinist, the star went completely insane in his process to lose as much weight as he could, resulting in a character portrayal that was seldom seen by a star.
The film follows the tale of a factory worker named Trevor Reznik, an individual with insomnia so severe that it starts to take a toll on his mental and physical health. This condition gets tragic when an on-the-job accident causes his co-worker to incur severe injuries, which Reznik completely himself for. His condition further deteriorates when he starts sensing an enigmatic presence near him, which he calls Ivan.
Batman Begins, streaming on Max.
