The Christian Bale Paradox

People were telling me, hey you can't go play Patrick Bateman, it's career suicide. And I was like, bring it on, I definitely want to do that. And the Oscar goes to Christian Bale, The Fighter. Bloody hell, what a room full of talented and inspirational people, and what the hell am I doing here? Christian Charles Philip Bale. I think you've already said it. Many call him Sigma Bale. For some he's a godly actor, for others he's a beacon of dedication, and for very few he's a symbol of toxic masculinity. I'm in touch with you man. But why? Some say it's because of his iconic roles as Bruce Wayne, Dick Cheney and Patrick Bateman. Others say it's because society has gone mad. But even if that were true, there is more to the story than that. So let's go back. Faster. Stop. Right there. 1974. Christian Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales. And Bale had a very early start to his career. His family was always moving from country to country, since his dad was a pilot and his mom was a circus performer. Through their numerous travels, young Bale had seen a lot of the world. And so when his sister got cast in a West End musical, Christian Bale decided that he would become an actor professionally. Up until that moment, he had just appeared in a Fabric Softner commercial when he was 8 years old. Following his decision to start acting, he took part in a play called The Nerd. That would serve as the foundation for his future career. He performed opposite the legendary Rowan Atkinson before he was Mr. Bean. On set, he took notice of how Rowan embodied the character he was playing. Outside of scenes, Rowan never talked to anyone on the set. He was thoroughly engulfed in his role at all times. It wasn't until after the play that Rowan introduced himself to Bale and other members of the cast. This mesmerized Bale and gave him a clear template to follow. Because you see, Christian Bale had never gotten any formal acting training. Everything he did, he learned from deeply observing those around him. You could say he was very lucky to have Rowan Atkinson as his muse. And through his newfound method acting style, Christian Bale would take what he learned and reach for the stars. 1986 Following his successful acquisition of a minor role in the television film, Anastasia, The Mystery of Anna, Christian Bale received a significant opportunity. Amy Irving, the film's lead star and spouse of acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, went on to endorse Bale for a pivotal role in Spielberg's 1987 film, Empire of the Sun. He scaled through the auditions and performed exceptionally well during the movie. This was a breakout role for him at just 13 years of age, and it netted him the inaugural Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, as well as mainstream popularity. But all of this came at a cost. Young Bale loved acting. He loved being in the moment of acting, and he found it fun. What he didn't love, though, was all the attention that came with it. He dreaded the numerous interviews, unnecessary attention, and worst of all, he was getting bullied in school. In fact, it got so bad that he would sneak away during interviews to use the bathroom, then completely vanish the next moment. And who could blame him? He was still a child, with little understanding of the acting world, and so much pressure being mounted on him. It was a first roadblock in his acting career, and the entire experience caused him to take a break from acting, as he didn't want to deal with all the media attention ever again. Thankfully, the people around Bale had other plans. Christian Bale got dragged back into acting when Kenneth Branagh persuaded him to appear in his film, Henry V. Despite his personal dread of the media, the young Bale felt a sense of obligation to continue acting due to financial reasons, and the fact that Kenneth had put effort into persuading him. Following his performances in Empire of the Sun and Henry V, Christian Bale went through a highly difficult time in his life. His parents went through a divorce, which ended with him moving to Los Angeles, together with his dad and sister Louise. Los Angeles, even back then, was a good place to focus on his acting career and get his mind off his family issues. In Los Angeles, Christian Bale's career went through a bit of a lull, and it seemed like the hype had died down for Bale. He either starred in unsuccessful movies such as Newsies, or played a minor supporting role in mid-tier movies like The Portrait of a Lady. Christian Bale was putting his all into the movies, and they just weren't performing. That's not to say that all movies he performed in did terribly. I mean, he played a smashing role as Theodore Laurie Lawrence in Little Women, and voiced Thomas in Pocahontas, which were both received well by audiences and critics alike. It's crazy to think that Leonardo DiCaprio almost snatched a role from him again. Bale had previously lost huge roles to DiCaprio in movies including This Boy's Life, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and even The Titanic. You have to imagine Bale wasn't too happy with DiCaprio coming for his role yet again. When Bale first auditioned with director Mary Herron, she knew he was the perfect fit and refused to take anyone else but him. Both she and Bale were kicked off the production team because of it. The studio then brought in Leonardo DiCaprio with Oliver Stone as the new director. Thankfully, Leonardo ended up changing his mind about playing the role after receiving some advice from a journalist that led him to believe that it would affect his image and approval ratings with female audiences, which were of course the major part of his audience at the time, since playing in The Titanic. That journalist was Gloria Steinem, and she was a feminist who later got married to Bale's father that same year. Some people speculated that she was actually looking out for her future stepson, but no one really knows for sure. Regardless, it was great news for Christian Bale, who was rejecting other movie offers and still actively preparing for the role despite being kicked off of the team earlier. When the time for production came, the crew immediately knew that they were dealing with a serious method actor. With his foundations with Rowan Atkinson, Christian Bale encapsulated the role of Patrick Bateman perfectly, even when the cameras weren't rolling. He had actually practiced Patrick Bateman's routine from the movie every day in real life and was dead set on playing him to perfection. Film Critic 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. With the success of the Batman movies, new life was given to Bale's career. New opportunities were being presented, but with it, of course, came some problems as well. On the set of Terminator Salvation in 2008, Christian Bale had an outburst towards a member of the crew. The audio of the incident was released the following year and what ensued was chaos. In the clip, Bale was mouthing off the film cinematographer Shane Holbutt for walking onto the set in an intense moment of filming. It got so bad that Bale threatened to leave if Shane wasn't fired. There was a huge outrage from the public, with some people holding the opinion that the years of method acting had finally broken his mental state. He got too into the role he was playing. Eventually, Christian apologised publicly and said he had made amends with Shane, saying that what he did was inexcusable. Shortly before that, on 22nd July 2008, Christian Bale found himself detained by authorities in London. This followed a report filed by his mother and sister, Sharon, alleging an assault at a hotel. Subsequently, Christian was released on bail. He flat out denied the accusations and referred to the incident as a deeply personal matter. Ultimately, on 14th August, the Crown Prosecution Service announced its decision not to pursue the case any further due to insufficient evidence that could reasonably lead to a conviction. One could say that his characters were beginning to affect his personal life, which he keeps very private. These situations greatly reduced his public perception and gave him a lot to think about in years to come. 2009. Terminator Salvation was finally released. And it was said to be one of Christian Bale's worst performances and a far cry from the rejuvenation Bale had hoped to bring to the franchise. After the movie's less than successful run, Bale realised that this was just a small hurdle in his career. And so, he picked himself up, dusted off and went for the next movie. 2011. Christian Bale won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe for the same category as well. These were awards that eluded him for years and he won them doing what he was best at, method acting. Dickie Eklund was a character that couldn't be played by just anyone. There needed to be a sense of authenticity and comedy to the performance. And that's exactly what Christian Bale delivered. Prior to the role, he had lost 30 pounds so he could look as close to Dickie as possible. During filming, he was regularly hanging out with Dickie Eklund in order to play his role to perfection. They became close friends and Bale thoroughly understood the mind of Dickie. All of that enabled him to perform exceptionally well in the role. But Christian Bale wasn't done. That same year, he would star in a historical drama film, The Flowers of War, which became the highest-grossing Chinese film of that year. Shortly after that, he would return to Batman to finish off the trilogy. The last instalment of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, grossed over $1 billion worldwide, surpassing its predecessor by a landslide. Bale's performance in the trilogy was regarded as the best portrayal of Batman on film, but Bale still felt he could have done better. After The Dark Knight trilogy, Bale stepped into the next phase of his career. He starred in films such as Out of the Furnace, The Big Short and American Hustle. He was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his work in American Hustle. In preparation for the movie, he gained 43 pounds, shaved part of his head and adopted a bad posture, which reduced his height by 3 inches and caused him to suffer a herniated disc. It was just another day at the office for Bale, as he would put his mind and body through any form of torture in order to play a character to perfection. Happy to say that it paid off though. As he was also nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his work in The Big Short in 2016. In the movie, Bale portrayed Michael Burry, a socially awkward hedge fund manager. Set in the 2008 financial crisis, Bale once again met up with the real Michael Burry in order to understand his role better. It led him to deliver an outstanding performance that received critical acclaim. Christian Bale's career was almost complete, and after his role in Ford vs Ferrari, where he had to lose 70 pounds and got another nomination for a Golden Globe Award, Christian Bale announced that he was no longer going to go through weight fluctuations for movies. It seemed like time had finally caught up with him, as the frequent weight fluctuations were beginning to cause him heart palpitations. Although that might seem like a sad story, it was not the end of his career. Christian Bale would go on to appear in multiple movies after that. Most recently, in Amsterdam and his role in Thor Love and Thunder, where he played Gorr the God Butcher. Throughout his entire career, Christian Bale held a unique acting philosophy. He never considered himself a method actor, but rather someone who is willing to completely immerse himself in a role. He always took challenges head-on, regardless of the opinion of others. For him, it was fun. For him, it was art. That was just a lovely makeout session with my wife and with Adam and with Charles. Oh my lord, your empire has already ended.