Ever since tapes leaked from Christian Bale’s raging rant on the set of ‘Terminator Salvation,’ the public learned that the real-life Batman is a very, very angry fellow. In a Q&A for Esquire’s December issue, Bale is the gift that keeps on giving, as he rips into acting and expresses how he loves it when people criticize him.
Bale says he’s got a huge ego, yet seems to hate himself, then comes off like Mr. Family Man. And oh yeah, he’s a big Chris Farley fan. Go figure.
On his acting career: “Well, it’s also just I’m bored s***less with myself.”
On being famous: “Well, it’s embarrassing to be a star. Most people look at you like, ‘That’s not a f—ing job, is it?’ And then on top of that, you learn very quickly that you’re just a tool — other people are manipulating everything you do, you’re at the mercy of editors, and there’s nothing you can do. But I learned that there’s a certain character that can be built from embarrassing yourself endlessly. If you can sit happy with embarrassment, there’s not much else that can really get to ya. (more…)
I cannot wait to see this new movie, looks so good! The Fighter, an upcoming boxing movie, has been a passion project of Mark Wahlberg’s for years. I love Christian Bale, and maybe he’ll finally win an for an award with this movie!
Christian Bale is at it again – the actor has downsized his physique for his new role as a drug addicted boxer in The Fighter.
Known for his uncanny ability to re-sculpt his body for his movie roles, the Welsh-born actor, who just last month looked handsome and healthy, has gone to extremes to portray fighter Dicky Eklund, opposite Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams.
“I will adjust to what is needed. But only if I have quite an obsession for the role,” Bale told People in 2005.
Bale revealed he relied on a diet of apples, coffee and cigarettes for his role as insomniac, Trevor Reznik, in The Machinist. The actor lost 63 pounds for the film, which was a third of his body weight.
Five months after that weight-defying role, Bale switched gears and bulked up for his superhero turn as Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. A feat that put a lot of pressure on his body – both physically and emotionally.
“I think that putting weight on – unfortunately I had to put it on pretty fast and it’s not really healthy doing that – is when I felt bad. I put on 100 pounds in like five months,” Bale said at the time. “You get big mood swings and everything with it.”
Let’s just hope his body – and moods – can handle one more big change because as of now a third installment in the Batman franchise is in the works.
You rescued the Batman franchise from spoof by giving us a dark, even dislikable Bruce Wayne. Is Christian Bale now the go-to guy when an action franchise needs a booster shot of serious?
Look, that’s laughable. How serious can a movie about time-traveling robots be? You want it to be cool and fun.
Don’t do that. Don’t apologize for being a serious guy. You’re the first actor playing Batman to understand that he’s as anarchic and freakish as his enemies.
It’s true. I do like taking stuff seriously that a lot of people look at as nonsense. I enjoy the insanity of that. And I like the commitment that is needed for that. But this is a movie about time-traveling robots. I guess I’m always wary of this bullshit where people are makin’ it sound like what you do is far more impressive than it actually is. Everyone always tells you that you’re the only one that can do this or that role right, and if you say no, they go to somebody else and tell them that they’re the only one that can do it right. But when they’re talking to you, you’re always the Best Actor of Your Generation.
Actually, GQ has determined that you are the Third-Best Actor of Your Generation.
Thank you.
So who is John Connor?
Well, he’s not a freak like Bruce Wayne. There’s nothing pathological about him. He has a burden. He knows he’s to be the savior of mankind. J.C., right? In early versions of the script, they had all these weird paganistic amulets and talismans all over me. I told ’em to get rid of that crap. John Connor is all about utility: “There is no fate but what you make.” As far as playing him, I thought of it mainly in terms of his mom. He’s got this mad dog of a mom who everybody thinks is crazy but whose prophecies turn out to be true. I felt that a lot of her ferocity and recklessness had to be passed down.
Would you have unleashed the Rant as intensely, if at all, had you been playing someone other than John Connor?
Of course not. And it wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t been playing that scene, for Christ’s sake, between John Connor and his wife, which is probably the most intense one in the movie.
Tons of pictures & more of the interview after the jump!
