Five Of The Best: Christian Bale Movie Performances

In cinemas this weekend is the American western Hostiles, the latest film from Scott Cooper (Out of the Furnace, Black Mass, Crazy Heart). Christian Bale leads the cast of a battle-worn Army captain Joseph J. Blocker, who reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief (Wes Studi) and his family through dangerous territory. We caught the film at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and despite having a few minor issues with the film, praised it for its key performances, notably from Bale and co-star Rosamund Pike. Here, in a special feature, we take a look at Christian Bale’s five best film performances over his multi-decade career.

5. The Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan (2005-2012)

We’ll kick things off with arguably Bale’s highest profile role, that of Bruce Wayne and Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, which kicked off in 2006 with the stunning Batman Begins. DC have had a rough time in the last few years, but for nearly a decade Warner Bros. owned the superhero genre and possibly had a lot to do with why comic book films are so popular today. A lot of that is due to Nolan’s unique, grounded vision for the Caped Crusader, but also because of the superb performance from its lead actor. Bale may not have been the obvious choice, as most of his career was made up of more supporting, character-driven fare when he was cast in Batman Begins, but that’s why his positioning as the Dark Knight is such a genius move.

4. The Big Short, Adam Mackay (2015)

Bale’s performance as Michael Burry, the man who predicted the 2008 financial crisis in Adam McKay’s award magnet, is nothing short of astonishing. His turn as the hedge-funder is largely confined to one room, which results in it being utterly theatrical in its deliver and completely mesmerising. His Golden Globe-nominated performance sees Bale as Burry drumming along to heavy metal music in his office while work barefoot. The film is very well-written, but it is Bale who brings the enigmatic though socially awkward character, based on a real person don’t forget, to life making the film even more enjoyable because of it.

Related: Hostiles review [TIFF 2017]

3. The Machinist, Brad Anderson (2004)

He will soon be seen in as former Vice-President of the United States Dick Cheney in an as-yet-untitled biopic, seemingly piling on the pounds to fully embody the character, but in 2004 Bale did the reverse and lost a reported 62 pounds to play Trevor Reznik in Brad Anderson’s The Machinist. The actor took in just 55–260 calories per day, reportedly consuming “water, an apple and one cup of coffee per day, with the occasional whiskey.” The result is a 100-pound skeleton of a man, a factory machinist whose insomnia and psychological problems lead to a serious workplace accident involving a co-worker. This is method acting at its most extreme and a performance from a professional at the top of his game.

2. American Psycho, Mary Harron (2000)

With the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton previously attached, the role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho eventually went to Christian Bale, director Mary Harron’s original choice for the very lucrative, and indeed very controversial lead. As with a lot of his later parts, the character called for the actor to transform his body to become the narcissistic Bateman, and reportedly called in a personal trainer and spent up to three hours a day in the gym for many months to ensure he looked like the Wall Street banker he was about to portray. Bale turned down other roles that came in during the time it took for the film to be given the go-ahead from Lionsgate, but his firm focus and ongoing relentless commitment to the role would see him land one of the best performances of his career, and launch him into Hollywood leading man status.er

1. Empire Of The Sun, Steven Spielberg (1987)

It’s easy to forget that Christian Bale’s first major role was in the 1987 Steven Spielberg movie Empire Of The Sun. He plays the character of Jim in the film, a young English boy who struggles to survive under Japanese occupation during World War II. He was just 12 years old when he played the character, a lead role in a film that is often forgotten amongst Spielberg’s bulging back-catalog. Despite appearing opposite the likes of John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Joe Pantoliano, Nigel Havers and other acting greats in the movie, Bale comes out the other side as a strong presence full of future acting potential, and early acting promise which delivers in spades in the decades that followed.

Hostiles is in UK cinemas from Friday 5th January 2018.