31 Fantastic Facts About Christian Bale That Will Blow Your Mind

One of the most versatile actors of his generation, Christian Bale is known to perform his characters with such searing intensity that leaves ever-lasting impressions. He gives it all to get under the skin of his characters, be it the superhero Batman or an insomniac lathe operator. It’s not just the physical transformations that meets the eyes, but even the mentally challenging roles, which makes him one of the greatest actors he is today. Here are some fascinating facts about the actor that will make you love him more:

1. He almost missed the chance to play Moses in “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” as he was considered overweight for the character. He was, at that time, reducing the weight he had gained for his role in “American Hustle.” He reported worked on a strict regimen and achieved the physique required within time.
2. For the movie “Knight of Cups,” it was said that director and writer Terrence Malick had no lines written for Christian Bale’s character of Rick. Malick had only given him the character description and has asked him to improve.
3. Actually, there was no real script, but the director would write multiple pages of dialogue for other actor and actresses, while giving them the choice use whichever part they wanted. This lead to Bale trying to sneak a peek into other actors’ pages to know what to expect in each scene.
4. Before the filming of “The Big Short” started, he met with the real Dr. Michael Burry, and asked him to lend his cargo shorts and T-shirt. This is what he can be seen wearing in the movie.
5. He reportedly wanted to have Dr. Michael Burry in the film’s Los Angeles premiere, as he claimed that he wanted to sit next to him and see if Burry would punch him in the face.
6. Director Adam McKay’s first and only choice for the role of Dick Cheney in “Vice,” was Christian Bale. The duo previously worked together on the 2015 “The Big Short.” McKay had been impressed with his ability to psychologically break into a character and put them together again.
7. As a part of the preparation for his role as Ken Miles in “Ford V Ferrari,” he took race driving lessons under Robert Nagle, who was also the stunt coordinator of the movie, at the Bondurant High Performance Driving School.
8. The founder of the school was a friend of the real Ken Miles and has reportedly told Bale stories of the 1960s racing scene which also very much helped him with his performance.
9. Throughout the filming of his 2005 movie “Batman Begins,” he had an active dislike for his uncomfortable Batman outfit, which he claimed that helped in getting the foul mood required for his performance as Dark Knight.
10. In preparation for his role as Moses in “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” he reportedly surpassed Sunday school basics and delved into scripture and other literary works. Bale had read the first five books of the Bible, the Quran as well as Louis Ginzberg’s classic “Legends of the Jews” and Jonathan Kirsch’s “Moses, A Life.”
11. There was a leaked video on the Internet which showed him yelling using profanity at cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, while filming “Terminator Salvation,” in summer 2008. It was said that while shooting an intense scene, Hurlbut was adjusting the light in the background, which distracted Bale, making him angry.
12. However, after the video was leaked, Christian Bale publicly apologized for his misbehavior admitting that he “went overboard” and made it very clear that he is on very good terms with the cinematographer. Still, he was disappointed with people who recorded and distributed the clip, as it betrayed the “creative trust.”
13. It was reported that his co-star Matt Damon accepted the role of Carroll Shelby in “Ford Vs Ferrari,” just because he had wanted to work with Christian Bale for years.
14. For his movie “Vice,” he claimed that he had to do more research than any other movie projects, as the director’s improvisational directing style, required him to ad-lib in character most of the times.
15. In order to perform better, he had to have Dick Cheney’s mannerisms and vernacular portrayed accurately, along with the knowledge of polices, and other political instances of the Vice President’s character.
16. Even according to the executive producer Jeff G. Waxman of the movie, Christian spent months together before the starting of production, studying Dick Cheney, by viewing every single of his interventions and interviews.
17. Director Scott Cooper had promised Bale in the year 2011 that the thriller “Out of Furnace,” will not be made without him. Bale’s schedule did not allow him to take up the project until April 2012, though he was very much impressed with the story.
18. Before the filming of the movie “The Big Short” commenced, he is said to have injured his knee very badly. Following this, director Adam Mckay planned to use a double for Christian’s scenes involving drumming and swimming, to which he refused and performed it himself.
19. In the audition for the role of Dark Knight in “Batman Begins,” he decide early on to play him as a rage-filled monster, in an effort to polarize writer director Christopher Nolan, who was actually thrilled with this off-kilter interpretation.
20. Director David O. Russell claimed that Robert De Niro was not able to recognize Bale on the sets of “American Hustle,” despite being introduced to each other before. De Niro had taken Russell aside and pointed to Bale and asked who he was.
21. Russell had to convince De Niro that it was really Christian Bale, ad De Niro refused to believe it. After he got convinced and nodded his head as a sign of approval, noting “Wow, he looks really different,” Russell is said to have re-introduced Bale and De Niro.
22. For his role as Ken Miles in “Ford V Ferrari,” he has to lose nearly seventy pounds of weight around seven months before the filming started. He reportedly told his co-star that he achieved the desired weight by simply not eating.
23. However, he had just gained more than 45 pounds of weight for his role as Dick Cheney in the 2018 movie “Vice.” The character reportedly required a very hefty physique which he achieved through eating pies.
24. This was also said to be the first time Bale consulted a nutritionist to help him with gaining weight, as he claimed he was more concerned with maintaining his health.
25. It was in the early 2000s that he became interested in playing the superhero Batman, after reading the graphic novel “Arkham Asylum,” loaned to him by his friend. He had simply told his agents that if there’s a Batman movie being made, he wanted in.
26. He claimed that during the shooting of the movie “Knight of Cups,” he would start each day’s shoot not knowing what will happen to his character of Rick and what he will do, as there was no actual script.
27. In preparation for his role as Dicky Eklund in “The Fighters,” he had to lose 30 pounds as the real Eklund was a crack addict at that time. He He also spent hours with the real Eklund in order to learn how to emulate him properly and get a better understanding of how his mind works.
28. For his movie “Out of the Furnace,” he actually learned to operate a real furnace in an effort to perform better. He did not use a body double for his scenes inside the steel mill, thought director Scott Cooper insisted on it.
29. With his Oscar nomination for his performance as Dick Cheney in the “Vice,” he became the first actor to have received an Academy Award nomination for playing a real-life vice president.
30. He was first cast as the lead character Irving Rosenfeld in “American Hustle,” but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, passing over the role to Bradley Cooper. But, when his schedule was cleared, he was immediately taken back into the project, for the same role, with Cooper taking on the role of FBI agent Richie DiMaso.
31. Christian Bale Net Worth: $80 Million