All Of Christian Bale's Most Unbelievable Movie Transformations - Ranked
How will Christian Bale change his look after Vice?
Everyone who's seen the man's work knows Christian Bale is a talented actor, but his ability to play a character is only one part of what makes him amazing. Bale has been working in film since 1987 with his breakout role in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, but since then, he has gone on to play some incredible characters.
As he developed as an actor, Bale became more method than most people in his trade. Unlike some of his peers, he doesn't pretend to be his characters when the camera isn't running, but he does everything he can do to physically become them for the camera.
While most people working in the industry are more than happy to throw on a fat suit or dress in motion capture onesies to get the right look on camera, Bale insists on transforming his body physically for his roles.
Not content to simply pretend, Bale has gained and lost more than 100 lbs. (45 kg) over the years to play different characters. The tortures he puts his body through have made him a wonder in the industry with many looking on to see how he will change his body for whichever role comes next. Of the many roles Bale has had over the years, these represent the most drastic changes he has made to his appearance.
7. American Hustle (2013)
In 2013's American Hustle, Bale was cast to play Irving Rosenfeld, a con artist who is thrust into an FBI sting operation to root out corrupt politicians in New Jersey. In the film, Rosenfeld is an overweight man with a comb-over, beard, and mustache.
The most prominent physical characteristic of Rosenfeld is his rotund belly, which presented a drastic challenge for Bale to emulate. Bale had wrapped up filming of The Dark Knight Rises the previous year, which meant he had to convert a great deal of toned muscle mass into fat.
To make this happen, the actor did what just about everyone his age does; he ate a ton of junk food and stopped working out. In an interview with People Magazine, Bale detailed how he made this happen:
“I ate lots of doughnuts, a whole lot of cheeseburgers and whatever I could get my hands on. I literally ate anything that came my way.”
When he took the role, Bale was at his usual 183 lbs (83 kg), but when filming began, he had ballooned up to 228 (103 kg). While that can't be healthy, he somehow always managed to lose the gained weight and return to his typical healthy weight of 183 when a movie like this wraps.
Gaining all that weight and cutting off most of his hair may have only been one part of portraying Rosenfeld, but it worked. Bale was nominated for a second Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal in the film.