Christian Bale Gains Weight For ‘American Hustle’
Christian Bale’s weight gain for American Hustle is, well, impressive. The actor showed up in the flick’s latest trailer with a beard, mustache, shaggy hair, and a beer belly. That’s right, Batman isn’t fit anymore (at least right now).
But we can’t say we’re surprised Bale went all out for the role of con-artist Irving Rosenfeld, considering the actor has changed his body to suit his role several times.
Bale also bulked up for his role in The Dark Knight Rises, though that was more muscle and less beer belly. The reverse is also true. The Daily Mail reports that the actor previously lost a massive amount of weight for his roles in The Machinist and Rescue Dawn.
He also lost weight for the 2010 film The Fighter, where Christian Bale played crack addict Dicky Eklund. When discussing his role as Eklund, as well as the criticism that came from his weight loss for the role, Bale stated:
“To be honest, I find it laughable that it’s considered to be some f*cking gimmick — it’s so patronizing. For God’s sake, do people not understand what a pain it is to do?… It’s not easy, it’s not fun — it’s horrible.”
While his role in The Fighter was definitely notable, Bale’s weight loss was best shown in The Machinist, when he dropped 70 pounds to play the emaciated, troubled lead, notes Us Weekly. In 2010, the actor spoke about his drastic weight changes for movie roles, saying:
“Believe me, I don’t go looking for these things. If it does happen, it’s like, ‘Oh damn, I have to do that again,’ because I just tend to fall for the movie, the character, and then I’ll realize, ‘Oh man, I gotta do that.”
While Christian Bale showed off his weight loss in the new trailer for American Hustle, Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Bale’s wife in the film, also delved into a few bad habits. The actress, who is known for her role as Katniss in The Hunger Games, was seen smoking and cussing in several scenes.
American Hustle hits theaters on December 13.
[Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]
