Actor Christian Bale discusses his true feelings about acting and how he was forced into it.
Christian Bale became well-known for his portrayal of Batman in the 2005 film “Batman Begins.” Later, in 2008 and 2012, he reprised his role in the sequels “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Bale is set to produce and star in David O. Russell’s period mystery comedy “Amsterdam.” Anya Taylor-Joy, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, and Taylor Swift will co-star with the veteran actor.
In a recent GQ cover story interview, the “Thor: Love and Thunder” star promoted his latest project, “Amsterdam,” and revealed his true feelings as a veteran actor. When asked if he was concerned that his role as Batman would be his final, Bale said he would have preferred to end it.
Bale said:
“I loved that because I was like, ‘This could be it. I could never be anything but that.’ And for a lot of people, I won’t. I was like, ‘Ah, maybe I’m going to be forced to go do something different.’ And maybe this fucking thing [acting] that I got forced into doing as a kid that I didn’t fucking want to do in the first place, I’m out. And I’m free. And then it didn’t happen.”
Bale has played the lead in several films, including “Batman Begins,” “Empire of the Sun,” and “American Psycho.” Despite his previous lead roles, the 48-year-old actor has stated that he has never wanted to play the lead in a film.
Bale expressed to GQ:
“I’ve never considered myself a leading man. It’s just boring. You don’t get the good parts. Even if I play a lead, I pretend I’m playing like, you know, the fourth, fifth character down, because you get more freedom. I also don’t really think about the overall effect that [a character’s] going to have. It’s for me to play around, much like animals and children do. Have tunnel vision about what you’re doing, not think about the effect you’re having.”
The world premiere of “Amsterdam” took place on September 18 at New York City’s Alice Tully Hall. The film will be released in theaters nationwide on October 7, 2022.