“Otherwise I just feel I don’t have the confidence”: Christian Bale is Lost Without ‘Intensive’ Method Acting While Preparing for Roles
Christian Bale is one of the most talented performers in the industry, having portrayed such memorable characters on-screen over the years that audiences appreciate revisiting those characters to enjoy a level of dedication and witness art in its raw and honest form.
Bale has appeared in films such as American Psycho, The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Machinist, The Pale Blue Eye, and others, and has established himself as a believer in intense method acting. The practice of method acting was formed during Hollywood’s Golden Age, and it is when actors are willing to feel important components of the characters they will represent on-screen.
Christian Bale explains intense method acting makes him feel secure
Actor Christian Bale, who is regarded as one of the actors who would give his 200% for the characters he’d be playing on-screen, mentioned in an interview with GQ that he is aware that he went a little too far with his method of acting for a particular role.
In a video interview where the actor went ahead to break down the iconic characters he has played over the years, he said, “I don’t know how to do this sort of prep stuff without it being somewhat intensive because otherwise, I just don’t feel I have the confidence.”
The actor further added, “I always imagine that I’m going to get on set and the director’s going to go, I don’t even like this scene. Make it up. And I’ve got to be ready for that. And if I’m not ready for that, I feel very insecure arriving on the set.”
Bale has, however, mentioned that the weight loss he did for 2004’s The Machinist is a clear example of his intense method of acting, adding that he knows that he might have gone a little too far in an interesting way that friends and family did not enjoy what they saw.
Read this: Christopher Nolan Reveals If He Will Make The Dark Knight 4 With Christian Bale
Christian Bale describes finding one’s normal self again as a ‘long process’
The actor who impressed critics and audiences with his character portrayal of Trevor Reznik in Brad Anderson’s The Machinist said that he finds it difficult to get back to himself after being involved in the intense method acting process.
He said, “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. Not all actors have this problem. Look, if I could switch it on and off like a lamp, that would be phenomenal. But I can’t, I have to dig my way out of it.”
The highly acclaimed and applauded actor shared during the interview that he had considered leaving the industry before The Machinist because he said that it had been a while since he was offered quality work, adding that he knew deep down the wrong choices he made when picking projects. But Bale noted that even though the movie was not everyone’s cup of tea and did not do particularly well, it gave him the push he needed to straighten his head out.
Christian Bale has a condition if he returns as Batman
Christian Bale, who portrayed the character of Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy from 2005 to 2012 shared in a recent interview that he would be open to returning to the character of Batman, but only if Christopher Nolan gets to helm the movie.
He said, “In my mind, it would be something if Chris Nolan ever said to himself, ‘You know what, I’ve got another story to tell.'” In his GQ interview last year, the actor was asked if he ever wondered if he’d be stuck as Batman forever, to which he said he did but he loved the idea of it.
It was known that Bale and Nolan, who have created a great rapport over the years, envisioned a limited run for their Trilogy as they aimed for three movies that would encapsulate their vision and not intend to linger on but added that if he has something to tell, he’d be happy to be a part of it.
Source: GQ
