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The award-winning Welsh actor, Christian Bale, is considered one of the finest performers in Hollywood. Throughout his decades-long career, Bale has undergone some remarkable physical transformations on screen.
Bale often gets under the skin of his characters by adding or losing an incredible amount of weight. Depending on the role, his weight has fluctuated from a measly 110 pounds to an astounding 230 pounds. His willingness to go to extreme lengths for his performances has earned him admiration from his fans and peers alike.
List of 10 films that feature Christian Bale's most stunning physical transformations
1) The Machinist (2004)
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Christian Bale's most drastic physical transformation was losing 60 pounds to portray the insomniac Trevor Reznik in Brad Anderson's psychological thriller, The Machinist. He reportedly went from 173 pounds to 110 pounds in four months and was reduced to skin and bones.
Bale shed the weight quickly by surviving on a diet of one can of tuna, a single apple, and a cup of coffee daily. He told Star2 in 2020 that he also smoked cigarettes and drank whiskey excessively to get to his desired weight in a short amount of time.
GQ also reported that Bale wanted to get down to 100 pounds, but the film's producers didn't allow him as it could do serious damage to his health in the long term.
2) Batman Begins (2005)
After wrapping up The Machinist in July 2003, Christian Bale bulked up within the next six months to play Batman/Bruce Wayne for Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. To achieve this, he consumed five meals in one sitting, which mostly consisted of pizza and ice cream. He was advised to start with soup and then gradually increase his calorie intake, but he ignored the advice.
During his 2006 interview with Femme Fatales, the actor said:
"I ate like crazy, trying to put on pounds. I actually went way overboard..... I’d put on exactly 100 pounds from the time I finished The Machinist to arriving in January in England."
Christian Bale continued:
"It was not a very healthy thing to do; I could lift a lot of weights, but you asked me to run across the room I’d be exhausted. So I started working out and doing a lot of running to bring my weight back down again. I was working out for three hours every day with a great trainer; an ex-Marine who didn’t take any sh*t or accept any laziness. He really kicked my ass.”
3) American Psycho (2000)
At 26 years old, Christian Bale played a Wall Street investment banker, Patrick Bateman, in Mary Harron's thriller, American Psycho. In order to convincingly portray the image-conscious serial killer, Bale followed a strenuous workout regime to develop chiseled abs and highly-toned upper arms.
While speaking to Train Magazine in 2017, Bale called his diet plan for the film his "most restrictive" as it included all lean proteins, without any sugars, good fats, or low carbs.
His dedication to embodying Patrick Bateman extended to the level that he got dental work done as well. Bale got his teeth capped and also fixed a gap in his front teeth to exemplify the character's narcissistic obsession with physical perfection.
4) Vice (2018)
Christian Bale gained 40 pounds to play the American Vice President Dick Cheney in the 2018 film, Vice. In Adam McKay's satire, Bale so thoroughly transformed himself that he looked completely unrecognizable in the role. The actor talked about gaining weight for the film with Star2.com in December 2017:
“I had never before gone to a doctor or a nutritionist about gaining or losing weight for my roles. But eventually that caught up with me. So, finally for Backseat (original title for Vice), I decided that maybe somebody knows better than I do; so I went to somebody and they managed to get me up a good 40lbs."
He continued:
"It’s never healthy to put on that amount of weight in a short amount of time, but I did it in the healthiest manner."
5) Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Following Vice, Bale next had to undergo a 70-pound weight loss to play the British race car driver, Ken Miles, in the sports drama titled Ford v Ferrari. The film was based on the true events of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race held in 1966. It became renowned for the rivalry and close competition between the Ford and Ferrari companies.
Bale achieved most of the weight loss by consuming fewer calories. Moreover, he told Variety Magazine in 2019:
"I had to get in the car. I could not bloody...–these things are not made for comfort, these cars. They’re tight. So, I couldn’t bloody get in them."
6) The Fighter (2010)
Christian Bale's Oscar-winning performance as the boxer-turned-trainer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter saw him drop 30 pounds and display a lean body type. Bale spoke about his process to play the crack-addicted fighter in 2011 with Latino Review, via Huffington Post:
“I was just running like crazy, I could just run for hours on end and I felt really healthy.”
7) American Hustle (2013)
Bale's turn as the potbellied conman Irving Rosenfeld in David O. Russell's American Hustle required him to gain 43 pounds. On December 8, 2013, he told People magazine that he gorged on endless doughnuts and cheeseburgers to go from 185 pounds to 228 pounds for the role.
Bale also shaved his head to achieve the balding look for his character, who was based on the 1970s con-artist-turned-FBI-informant, Melvin Weinberg. The actor was approaching 40 at the time, and the resulting weight gain led him to experience multiple health issues.
During an interview with USA Today in 2013, the film's director noted that Bale suffered from a herniated disc, and also lost three inches of height due to his commitment to this role.
8) Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
Bale next appeared as the biblical character Moses in Ridley Scott's historical drama, Exodus: Gods and Kings. He seemed much leaner, visibly toned, and looked in great shape compared to the overweight Irving Rosenfeld from his previous film.
The actor only had six months to shed the weight and achieved his weight loss goals by following a three-day power weightlifting routine as well as doing high-intensity cardio activities like swimming, and running.
9) The Dark Knight (2008)
Bale reprised his role as Batman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. To play Gotham City's vigilante, he worked on his strength, speed, agility, and stamina.
The actor told Collider in June 2007 that he followed an excruciating workout regime that included bodyweight moves, weights, and compound moves and was followed by a run daily. He did exercises like lat pull-downs, wide-grip pull-ups, bodyweight-style moves, tricep dips, tricep extensions, etc. to build a muscular physique for the role.
Christian Bale also revealed his diet plan for the movie during an interview with Train Magazine in 2017.
“Diet-wise I would eat smaller meals every two or three hours. Each meal I would aim for a balance of lean proteins, carbs and good, healthy fat. Pretty much every meal would have that mix. I’d also try to eat a lot of vegetables, drink good old H2O and more low-calorie fruits.”
10) Rescue Dawn (2006)
Bale underwent another amazing transformation when he played the German-born American pilot Dieter Dengler in Rescue Dawn. Directed by Werner Herzog, the film was inspired by the true story of Dengler's life as a prisoner of war after being captured in Laos during the Vietnam War.
Bale lost 55 pounds for his role to give himself the gaunt appearance of a captive who survived on maggots. The movie was shot in reverse order, meaning that the lead actor lost weight at the beginning of the shoot. Then, he gradually put on weight to appear more healthy for the earlier sequences in the film.
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