Be it a murderous maniac or a billionaire superhero, a paranoid insomniac, or a malicious supervillain, in every role that Christian Bale has played on-screen, he’s nailed it to perfection.
Portraying such dark and twisted characters, however, comes with a horde of repercussions, no matter how good the reward may be. And since the English actor is known to push himself to unspeakable limits for his roles, it obviously takes a toll on him, perhaps more physical than mental. But no more.
Christian Bale is Done With Gruelling Physical Transitions
Renowned for his commendable versatility and stupefying bodily transformations, Christian Bale has been on the receiving end of praise for the same more times than one could count. In fact, the proclivity he has for sculpting his body to fit in the skin of the on-screen character better has become more or less his trademark.
Whether it was gaining pounds for 2018’s Vice or shedding an incredible amount of weight for 2004’s The Machinist, Bale has devoted himself to achieving tremendous physical feats for his films. But at what cost? Gone are those days though, when Bale would subject himself to the torture of losing and gaining weight as if he didn’t also lose his mental and physical bearings completely while doing so.
“I keep saying I’m done with it,” The Dark Knight star said on a 2019 episode of CBS Sunday Morning. “I really think I’m done with it, yeah. Gotta be.”
His Most Baffling Transformations – From The Machinist to Vice
Brad Anderson’s The Machinist witnessed arguably one of the most intense and shocking transformations that any actor has undergone in Hollywood. Four months before filming the psychological thriller, the Academy Award-winning actor went on a harrowing diet consisting of an apple, a cup of coffee, and a tin of tuna every day “with the occasional whiskey.”
After losing 63 pounds for the 2004 film though, Bale had to gain all his muscle back for Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins within just six weeks. So, he went from barely eating anything to binging on ice cream and pizza and squeezing five meals in one sitting.
In 2018’s Vice, the Thor: Love and Thunder star had to embody a pot-bellied politician, and for that, he feasted on an awful lot of pies and put on 40 pounds of fat. A year after that, when he had to play a lean race car driver in Ford v. Ferrari, Bale then whittled down 70 more pounds.
And how can we forget American Psycho, the 2001 psychological horror that leaves a chill of eeriness down your spine every time you watch it; Bale got extremely jacked for his role as Patrick Bateman, the maniacal investment banker who doubles as a serial killer, thanks to a strict diet of only lean protein.
As unrivaled as his physical transformations might have been, it’s probably for the best that he doesn’t walk down that lane again.
Source: CBS News
