10 Crazy Sacrifices Actors Made For A Role (That Totally Backfired)

8. Christian Bale Distracts From His Performance By Losing 60lbs - The Machinist

Another entry for Christian Bale, and, as the modern master of physical transformation, it is, perhaps, to be expected. Bale and director wanted to visually express the state-of-mind of an insomniac who couldn't eat, and what better way to do that than to have an actor not sleep or eat? So the decision for Bale to change his body shape was justified, losing 60lbs to fulfil the part, but perhaps the reception to the film reveals the limits of cinema. Upon its release, the image of Bale's emaciated frame covered the newspapers and online gossip columns, and yet no one really spoke about the performance. It's a great film and Bale is frightening playing the part of Trevor Reznick, but nobody really noticed - they just saw his body instead. And that's just the people who went to see it. The film grossed just $64,000 on its opening weekend, meaning so many people only saw the photo of Bale rather than the movie itself.