Christian Bale is one of the most hard-working and dedicated actors in Hollywood. The Academy Award winner is known for his extreme commitment and dedication to any role that he chooses. Bale has seen success in both blockbusters as well as the dramatic category.
The actor is known for his physical transformations, where he loses or gains weight to get into the right physicality of the character he plays. He has done this multiple times, with the most recent being his Golden Globe-winning performance as former Vice President Dick Cheney in Adam McKay’s Vice. The actor gained over forty pounds for the film, which he had to quickly lose to star in the drama Ford v Ferrari.
Christian Bale’s Physical Transformations
The first time audiences came to know about Christian Bale’s dedication was when he lost over 62 pounds to play the role of an insomniac in the psychological thriller The Machinist. The actor became extremely skinny for the role, which he achieved by going on a diet of apples, coffee, and water, as well as smoking a lot. The actor then had to gain back the weight to film Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. He gained back a hundred pounds and then lost another thirty in the span of six months for the film.
The actor then lost weight again for David O Russell’s The Fighter, where he played Dicky Eklund, a former professional boxer. Bale reduced his weight from 175 pounds to 145 pounds. He gained it back for The Dark Knight. One of his most incredible transformations yet was when he had to gain a paunch for American Hustle. Director David O Russell spoke about this transformation during the film to USA Today,
“At one point I said enough already. He lost three inches of height and even got a herniated disc. He’s a quiet, sweet, smart person with endless passion. Women find him sexy in this movie, but it’s all in the eyes.”
The actor weighed around 230 pounds, dropping back to 190 pounds for Exodus: Gods and Kings. He lost more weight for his next film The Hostiles.
Christian Bale As Dick Cheney
Actor Christian Bale’s most known weight gain was for playing former Vice President of the USA Dick Cheney in Adam McKay’s Vice. The film saw him star along with Steve Carell, Amy Adams, and Sam Rockwell. The actor gained forty pounds for the role to resemble the overweight Vice President of the Bush administration. He said that he ate a lot of pies to reach that weight. The film earned him an Academy Award nomination and won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
The actor then had to lose all the extra weight and then some for playing race-car driver Ken Miles in James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari. He lost seventy pounds for the role. The film earned Bale another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Drama.
However, Christian Bale has since reassessed his habit of constantly gaining and losing weight. While he has mentioned before that the experience was spiritual for him, he has since mentioned the problems his age has caused him for such a process. In an interview with USA Today for American Hustle, he said,
“I think I’m certainly getting older. I thought I was going to lose the weight I gained for American Hustle. I said, two months, flat, that’ll do it. I was 185 and I went up to 228 for it. And I’m still working that off!”
He also mentioned during the press tour for Vice that he probably would not continue doing it due to its effects on his health as well as how far prosthetics have come.
Source: USA Today
