When I saw "The Fighter" I was pretty sure Christian Bale actually spent some time as a crackhead. Bale's normal weight is 185 pounds at exactly six feet. Not too shabby, but for "The Fighter" he was hovering around 145 pounds. He has a history of drastically changing his body for a role. If anyone else has seen "The Machinist" (2004), where Mr. Bale was down to a scary 120 pounds, you'll agree.
He is a method actor, meaning he completely immerses himself in a role (contrast this with the likes of Chris Tucker, who fits the role to his personality). I'm not sure which I prefer in my movies — it can be almost distracting how devoted Bale is to his role, and as my readers know, I really, really like Chris Tucker. My brother and his friends call Bale "Christ Bale" because they trust him so much to make any role in a movie interesting.
Within a year, Bale went directly from his role in "The Machinist" to "Batman Begins" (2005), gaining almost 70 pounds of muscle to get to 190. I'm not questioning his skill as an actor — the dude can play a role with an intensity that you don't see very often (he was a very, very angry John Connor in McG's "Terminator Salvation" (2009) movie), but that kind of dedication implicitly requires a huge amount of emotional effort on the actor's part.
I'm sure you've heard that recorded outburst by Bale on the set of "Terminator Salvation," where he blows up on some poor dude for accidentally walking on a set during filming — ruining a scene and wasting Bale's sweet time. And more somberly, it's been alleged that the role of The Joker in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" (2008) helped spur Heath Ledger's spiral into depression, indirectly leading to his death — and Mr. Ledger was also a very well−known method actor.
I guess the point I'm driving at is that I don't think I like method actors. I like what they do; they make some good movies. But I don't think I like them — I wouldn't want to drink a beer with Christian Bale. I would roll into hell itself with Chris Tucker, but Christian Bale doesn't seem to be a likable guy. He takes himself too seriously. He needs to chill out. Relax.
Psychological thrillers are pretty boss — I watch "Hoarders" and I love a spiral into craziness like anybody else. "The Jacket" (2005) with Adrien Brody, any movie with Daniel Day−Lewis, "Fight Club" (1999) with Edward Norton: There are a lot of awesome movies where the actors go the extra mile. And after all, making a good movie is sort of an actor's job. For me, I guess it's the difference between watching "Black Swan" (2010) and the recently released "Sucker Punch." One is about a very pretty lady going slowly crazy, and the other is about crazy hot chicks fighting a big stone samurai with a Gatling gun. I'll watch both, but I will totally have more fun during one than another.
Method actors do a great job of bringing reality right to your face. They can bring a gritty realism to a role that can't be achieved without some sacrifice on the part of the actor — a super−skinny and sleep−deprived Bale is the perfect example because it made "The Machinist" really engaging and worth watching. But, really, I can't watch too many serious movies like that in a row. Variety is the spice of life, and you can't be serious all the time. After watching "American History X" (1998), I followed it up immediately with that stupid Dennis Leary movie about airdropping an elephant during the Vietnam War — "Operation Dumbo Drop" (1995). And you know what? Both movies were awesome in their own right, but I had a great time during the second one.
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