Christian Bale is known for his extreme transformations in his roles. He continues to impress his fans with his adaptability, taking on challenging roles across various genres. However, the kind of transformation he underwent for a film was pretty alarming, even for his family. The actor lost around 27 kgs in four months, pushing his limits to another level.
While working on The Machinist, Christian Bale underwent extreme physical transformation, shedding a considerable amount of weight in a short span of time. The actor revealed that he practically ate nothing during the preparation.
Christian Bale Went Too Far For The Machinist
During an interview with GQ, Christian Bale was inquired about a role where he thought he went too far during the preparation. In response, Christian Bale acknowledged The Machinist was the role where he might have gone too far. While it wasn’t necessarily life-threatening, the effects of the transformation were evident to his close ones, and their reactions weren’t very pleasing.
Bale told GQ:
“The weight loss in The Machinist is a clear example. I would say in hindsight that perhaps I went a little too far [Bale lost four and a half stone for the part]. Not in a way that was particularly dangerous but it certainly got, shall we say, interesting, in ways that friends and family noticed – and didn’t particularly enjoy. And for me, just because you finish filming and the sets are dismantled and you go home, it can be a difficult, long process to find your normal self again. Will some deep part of you be altered indefinitely? Sure. And that just comes down to a way of working.”
Bale also asserted that not all actors come across such challenges. He expressed that being able to control it seamlessly would be great for him. However, for him, it’s not the case, so he has to work hard to get past it.
Christian Bale Lost Weight For His Oscar-Winning Role
In David O. Russell’s The Fighter, Christian Bale assumed the role of boxer Dicky Eklund. Bale underwent another body transformation for the role, coupled with intense training to add a layer of authenticity to his character.
During the shooting of the film, the director wanted Bale to quickly transition in and out of character, a request that Bale did not like. This led to a creative disagreement between the two. Bale clearly conveyed his disagreement with Russell’s approach.
He told The New York Times:
‘”David would say a couple of times, ‘O.K., be Dicky,’ and that’s just not the way I work. I kind of slowly do it, like a frog that you stick in cold water and slowly turn up the heat so it never knows it’s being boiled alive. Eventually it’s just happening but it’s vague, the line where you started. And when you’ve done it that way, it can take a bit of time to wear off.”
Bale’s method of taking on the character worked wonders for the film, earning the actor his only Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor. Bale went on to collaborate with Russell in subsequent films, including American Hustle and Amsterdam.
