Christian Bale’s Craziest Body Transformations

Christian Bale is set to star in a biopic about Dick Cheney’s time as Vice President of the United States, and if you didn’t know that Bale was about to do so, you might assume that Bale was just strolling around tinseltown carrying a little too much timber.

For Bale, this is of course just par for the course. The fact that he is able to transform his body with just a few months notice and a tremendous amount of dedication shows that he is truly a chameleon of his craft. Here are some of Bale’s most drastic body transformations to give you a better understanding of the many faces he has.

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American Psycho (2000)

For Bret Easton Ellis’ ubermensch to demonstrate the materialistic pride he took in his appearance, he needed a flawless body. This time, Bale went to extremes, building lean, shredded muscles that wouldn’t look out of place in the film 300. As far as incarnations of this character go, the fact that his physique still gets talked about years later puts this one in the Fight Club category.

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The Machinist (2005)

In order to tell this story of insomnia and guilt, Bale drained his body of all muscle in order to tell this tale. By consuming only an apple, water, coffee and the occasional glass of whiskey a day, he is reported to have lost up to 28kg for the role. At the end of the day he weighed just 54kg. Originally, the weight target was intended for a much shorter actor, but 6ft Bale insisted on trying to make weight regardless of his height.

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Batman Begins (2005)

In the six months from the time Bale completed The Machinist to the time he stepped into the role left vacant by George Clooney, he had his work cut out for him.

trained in weapons, Wing Chun Kung Fu and a martial art that had never been seen before called the Keysi Fighting Method, as well as hiring a personal trainer to help him gain 45kg for the role by binge-eating and lifting weights. Sadly, he gained so much weight that he wasn’t able to fit into the batsuit anymore, so he had to lose weight once more.

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American Hustle (2014)

In the nine years between playing Batman Begins and Hustle, Bale would slim down for a part between three consecutive Batman films, though he never quite reached the emaciated levels of his Machinist days. It was a new challenge, however, to gain sheer weight for this critically acclaimed heist caper. I ate a lot of doughnuts, a whole lot of cheeseburgers and whatever else I could get my hands on.” As he told one interviewer, “I literally ate anything that came my way.” I feel sorry for him.

Vice (2019)

There was some controversy surrounding the casting choice of Bale for this upcoming biopic of former Vice President Dick Cheney. With all the good intentions in the world, the former vice president appears to be becoming increasingly like Chevy Chase. And they cast Batman as well?

Even after having slimmed down after Hustle for his role as Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings, Bale has gained weight once again. How has he done this? According to him, “I am eating a lot of pies right now.”

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