“The legs had atrophied”: When Christian Bale’s drastic weight loss for The Machinist shocked Hollywood

Christian Bale's incredible weight loss for The Machinist counts as one of the most shocking transformations ever attempted by an actor on screen. The English actor, who has built his career around changing his appearance, admitted in hindsight that the transformation went a step too far.

He lost an astounding 62 lbs in preparation for the leading role in the 2004 film, The Machinist. Bale, who typically weighs around 170-180 lbs was reduced to a measly 110 lbs at the time of filming the psychological thriller. To lose the weight quickly, he reportedly stopped eating and continued burning fat by running.

But even that got too much at one point, as he told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2004:

"I eventually hit a point where the running wasn’t working anymore. It was more like stumbling — the legs had atrophied to such an extent they looked comical."

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Christian Bale's transformation for The Machinist explained

Christian Bale as seen in a still from The Machinist (Image via Prime Video)

Christian Bale played Trevor Reznik, a paranoid insomniac factory worker who hadn't slept in a year, in The Machinist. He appeared gaunt, sallow-skinned, with his body reduced to mere skin and bones.

The film's director, Brad Anderson, wanted to convey Trevor's emaciated look with baggy clothes and make-up. However, Christian insisted on shedding weight by following an extremely calorie-sparse diet in the four months leading up to the film's production.

In 2020, Bale told Star2.com how he lost all the weight in a short amount of time:

"I came up with the absolutely brilliant method of just smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey to lose weight."

Moreover, he survived by consuming only 200 calories per day. His diet dubbed the "Black Coffee Fast," consisted of black coffee, an apple, and one tin of tuna.

As reported by GQ Australia in May 2020, Bale wanted to lose even more weight and get down to 100 lbs, but the film's producers intervened for fear that it would cause the actor long-term health issues.

The Machinist was released on December 3, 2004, and was met with a mostly positive reception. Christian Bale's performance and commitment to the role were particularly singled out and drew praise from critics and audiences alike. The film was a box office success, having made over $8.2 million on a budget of $5 million. It has since become a cult classic.

The movie also starred Jennifer Jason Leigh, John Sharian, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Michael Ironside, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., and Anna Massey, in supporting roles.

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Christian Bale turned detective for his latest film role

Christian Bale at the Los Angeles premiere of The Pale Blue Eye (Image via Getty)

Christian Bale played detective Augustus Landor in his latest film, The Pale Blue Eye. The mystery thriller, written and directed by Scott Cooper, was released on December 23, 2022. Furthermore, the film arrived on Netflix a few weeks later on January 6, 2023.

Set in 1830, the film revolves around the retired detective Augustus Landor investigating a series of murders that took place at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. He is assisted in his investigations by the young military cadet Edgar Allan Poe, played by Harry Melling.

In addition to Bale and Melling, the film also stars Gillian Anderson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lucy Boynton, Toby Jones, Harry Lawtey, Timothy Spall, Simon McBurney, and Robert Duvall in supporting roles.

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