Christian Bale began his career as a child actor doing TV commercials in England. Today, he’s one of Hollywood’s hottest stars and most revered actors. We sat down with the American Hustle star to find out if his nerves ever get the best of him.
After starring in three Batman movies, Christian Bale could easily coast into superhero retirement. But that’s not who Bale is. Instead, he agreed to gain a whopping 40 pounds to play Irving Rosenfeld in the new film American Hustle.
Loosely based on a real American scandal called Abscam that took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bale plays a fictionalized version of the infamous con artist Melvin Weinberg.
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With all his experience, we asked Bale if he still finds acting challenging.
“Absolutely. I approach every film as if it’s my first and my last. I don’t really rely on technique in any way whatsoever, so I relearn everything for each and every film. You feel like you may fall flat on your a**.”
Seriously? The Oscar-award winning actor thinks he might fail?
“I do, sometimes. And that’s just the nature of it. When you’re attracted to things that crash and burn, there are definitely times when you’re going to do both.”
When he says “crash and burn,” perhaps Bale is referring to his most recent thriller Out of the Furnace, an indie film that has made less than $10 million since its release on Dec. 6 and garnered a “splat” rating of 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. We guess you can’t win them all.
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So what’s next for the The Dark Knight actor? A film called Knight of Cups (Bale sure has a thing for knights!), which stars Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman and is being directed by Terrence Malick (To the Wonder).
While the filmmakers are being tight-lipped about the movie’s plot, the title is a reference to a particular tarot card that is thought to represent a noble person with grand creative ideas who pounces on any and all opportunities. Sounds like Bale to us.
American Hustle opens in wide release in theaters on Dec. 20.
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