Christian Bales Weight in 'Batman Begins' Was an Issue

September 17, 2024

The Big Picture

Christian Bale's commitment to his roles is unparalleled, as he has shown a willingness to drastically change his body weight for various projects, such as Vice and Batman Begins .
Bale's dedication to his craft led him to dangerously lose weight for The Machinist , but he later had to gain weight to fit into the Batman suit.
Bale's physical transformations alone do not make him a great actor; his portrayal of Batman was praised for his deep understanding of the character's psychology and the vulnerability he brought to the role.

Oscar winner Christian Bale is one of the best, most committed actors working today, earning this reputation due to the extraordinary level of commitment that he has shown in each of his most famous roles. One of Bale’s most impressive qualities is his ability and willingness to lose and gain excessive amounts of weight for a role. Despite dropping to an unhealthy body mass in The Fighter and The Machinist, Bale was able to put on the additional weight to play (literally) oversized figures in American Hustle and Vice. There aren’t many roles out there that are more demanding of an actor than Batman, but Bale’s weight actually created some difficulties on set when he was cast as Bruce Wayne for the first time in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.

Batman Begins

PG-13ActionAdventureCrimeDrama

After witnessing his parents' deaths, Bruce learns the art of fighting to confront injustice. When he returns to Gotham as Batman, he must stop a secret society that intends to destroy the city.

Release Date June 15, 2005 Director Christopher Nolan Cast Christian Bale , Michael Caine , Liam Neeson , Katie Holmes , Gary Oldman , Cillian Murphy Runtime 140 minutes Main Genre Action Studio Warner Bros. Writers Bob Kane , David S. Goyer , Christopher Nolan Tagline Fear Is Your Weapon. Website http://www.batmanbegins.com/ Expand

Christian Bale Gained Too Much Weight To Be Batman

After dropping 60 pounds in order to play Trevor Reznik in The Machinist, Bale’s body was more vulnerable than it had ever been before. Bale had been on a diet of one apple, coffee, and water per day, and had begun smoking and drinking whisky in order to lose even more weight. This ended up being extremely detrimental to his health, and the issue grew to the point that the film’s producers were concerned about their star’s physical fitness after he completed production on the film. Prior to The Machinist, Bale had proven that he could get to peak fitness levels for American Psycho, and he needed to get back to a normal weight if he was ever going to star in another film. Bale was going to need to bulk up even more significantly if he was ever going to be convincing as the Dark Knight of Gotham City.

The role of Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins was one that many of Hollywood’s top leading men were searching for. Billy Crudup and Jake Gyllenhaal were among the top contenders to take on the role in what would be the first live-action Batman movie since 1997’s Batman & Robin. Christopher Nolan was also proving himself as one of the industry’s most talented directors, and after the success of Memento and Insomnia, actors were keen to work with such rising talent. Bale has seemingly made it a priority to work with nearly all the greatest directors of their respective eras (working with Steven Spielberg as a child set an extraordinary precedent for him), and Nolan was the next on his list. Bale worked hard to get the role, but unfortunately, he worked a little too hard.

Bale had to be able to realistically fit into the Batsuit and look realistic during the scenes where Bruce is training with the League of Shadows and Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson). Bale trained in Wing Chun Kung Fu with the martial arts trainer Eric Oram, and had mastered the art of combat to prepare for the training scenes and extended action sequences in the film. However, he ended up gaining an extra 100 lbs. in muscle in order to bulk up, which ended up being 30 lbs. too much for what Nolan had in mind. Nolan grew concerned that Bale would no longer be able to fit within the Batsuit, and had to drop those 30 lbs. before filming began.

Christian Bale Transformed His Weight for 'American Hustle' and 'Vice'

It wouldn’t be the first time that Bale made extraordinary changes to his body. After dropping some weight in order to star as a starved prisoner-of-war in Werner Herzog’s Vietnam War epic Rescue Dawn, Bale had to do additional training in preparation for the more complex stunt work in The Dark Knight. It wasn’t muscle that he would keep for long, as Bale subsequently dropped the added muscle and more weight again in order to play the drug-addicted boxing trainer Dicky Edluand in The Fighter. His dramatic transformation didn’t fall upon faint praise by Bale’s fellow actors within the industry, as his role in The Fighter won him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Bale’s weight loss may have impressed his peers, but he had to once again bulk up so that he could begin filming The Dark Knight Rises.

Tom Cruise Inspired Christian Bale's Performance in 'American Psycho'

"Impressive, very nice."

Ever since, it’s been a constant state of being up and down. He became obese to work with David O. Russell again for American Hustle, and added the muscle back for Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings. He gained weight again for the role of Dick Cheney in Vice, then went above and beyond losing weight for Ford v. Ferrari. His co-star Matt Damon noted that Bale had “a monk-like discipline that’s just really impressive to see.” There appears to be a limit to his commitment. During the promotional campaign for Ford v. Ferrari, Bale admitted that he was going to stop transforming his body due to the toll it took on his physical and mental health.

Christian Bale Was an Excellent Batman in Christopher Nolan's Trilogy

While Bale’s commitment is unprecedented. Gaining or losing weight alone does not guarantee a great performance. The physicality is only one part of the reason that Christian Bale was a great Batman. He showed more insight into Bruce’s psychology than had ever been seen on the big screen before. While Michael Keaton’s performance in Batman and Batman Returns was terrific, the two films never really delved into Bruce’s origin story in an extensive way. Bale had to show how a heartbroken child recovering from a family tragedy grew into his destiny as the savior of an entire city.

Bale’s maturity in the role solidified him as one of the best actors to ever play Batman. Ben Affleck certainly captured some of Bale’s brooding nature, and Robert Pattinson managed to explore a similar dynamic between Bruce and his loyal butler Alfred (Andy Serkis). However, neither star found the same blend of vulnerability and confidence that Bale had brought to the screen. It’s among the many reasons why The Dark Knight trilogy continues to age well in an era where so many comic book movies are completely disposable.

Batman Begins is available to watch on Max in the U.S.

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