Christian Bale is one of the best actors that Hollywood has ever produced. Bale’s commitment to giving his 100% to every role that he takes makes him a sensational actor. Speaking of which, Bale delivered a phenomenal performance in Ford v Ferrari.
It was an amazing movie with an even better cast. Along with Bale, Matt Damon did a convincing job of playing Carroll Shelby in the movie. Anyway, the Batman Begins star lost a lot of weight to fulfill the role of Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari.
Christian Bale Shocked Matt Damon With His Weight Loss Journey For Ford v Ferrari
Christian Bale is known for undergoing absurd transformations in his movies. From losing weight for his role in The Machinist to gaining it for Vice. After his insane transformation in Vice, Bale went through another one to play Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari.
Even Matt Damon was surprised by Bale’s insane transformation. Damon shared his views on it in a 2019 interview with the Men’s Journal.
[Christian] was coming off Vice, and from the time we decided to do the movie to the time we started shooting, he dropped 70 pounds. The first day on the set, I asked him: ‘How did you do that?’ I’ve lost weight and gained weight for parts, and there are lots of theories on how to do 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.”
Well, that’s one simple way to lose weight. As expected from a veteran actor like Bale, he didn’t overcomplicate things and gained the desired physique for the movie by making changes to his diet.
Thankfully, Bale’s efforts didn’t go to waste as the veteran actor won everyone’s hearts with his sensational depiction of Ken Miles. Miles’ heroics helped Ford defeat Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hour race.
Miles even gave up his first place to help Ford click an iconic picture where all three of their cars crossed the finish line at the same time.
Christian Bale Explains the Truth About Ken Miles’ Character
After watching Ford v Ferrari, one thing was extremely clear to fans: Ken Miles always took racing seriously. Keeping that in mind, it made the task of portraying him extremely easy for Bale.
In fact, the 49-year-old shared his honest views on the character of Ken Miles in the same interview with Men’s Journal.
He was an easy character to channel intensity into, but a great deal of fun as well. He was a guy who really enjoyed his life. He loved what he did. That’s why he was so passionate and despised the bureaucrats who would come along and spoil all the fun, basically. He just thought there was no room for them in racing.
As we mentioned earlier, the late Ken Miles was extremely passionate about racing. So much so that he wouldn’t fear talking his mind out to the top brass of Ford. There are several scenes that show the brave side of Miles in the film.
Miles lived a wild life and he lost his life doing what he loved the most. Just months after finishing in second place at the 1966 Le Mans, Miles died while testing the Ford J-Car later that year.
