'Batman Begins' Q&A - Christian Bale

David Fear catches up with the star of one of the summer's biggest film to talk about playing a superhero, putting on weight and wearing that suit.

Jun  6 2005

Christian Bale's résumé attests to his penchant for taking on challenging, extreme roles, like the homicidal yuppie of 'American Psycho' or the paranoid schizophrenic physically wasting away to nothing in 'The Machinist'.

But now the 31-year-old Welsh actor is really going out on a limb: He's entering the world of studio franchising.

The notoriously intense indie-cinema thespian takes on the role of millionaire Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego in 'Batman Begins', the blockbuster prequel (with a reported budget of $150 million) that delves into how the man became 'the Bat'.

And if the film is as shadowy as promised, there may be no actor better suited for the job. We called Bale at his home in LA to find out why he, of all people, answered the Bat-Signal.

What made you decide on something like Batman? It seems like an odd career choice for you.

A friend of mine gave me some of the graphic novels to read some years back. I didn't really follow the comics when I was younger, and I read the novels begrudgingly at first. But after I'd finished them I thought, 'Wow! There is such incredible potential within this character; he's as threatening as any of the villains.' That was what got me curious about it.

But you couldn't have known that when Warner Bros decided to revive the franchise they'd be willing to explore the darker side of Batman. Many people thought they'd go back to somebody in a costume riding a motorcycle in a neon-lit warehouse.

When I heard that Chris Nolan had signed on [as director], I realised that it wasn't going to be just another comic-book film. I insisted on meeting him to talk about the role. We discussed what he wanted to do with the notion of how this young man turns into this vengeance-crazed guy in a suit, and I thought, 'Yes! He gets it!' I was ready to sign on then and there.

You were still filming 'The Machinist' at that point, right? I don't want to be the 137th journalist to ask about your weight loss.

[Laughs] But you're going to anyway!

I'm going to anyway. How did you manage to put on the 100 pounds you needed to play Batman so quickly?

It's a lot easier than you'd think. No secret recipe for it, really. Just consuming vast quantities of food and lifting heavy weights.

How did people react when you walked onto the set in the suit?

This sounds odd to say, but there was a weird sense of reverence and apprehension when I had it on. I always thought that the costume should look intimidating, that Batman should look like a panther going in for the kill when he has it on. The effect should be like watching a coiled spring that's ready to just go off. So when folks sort of backed off from me when I had it on, I felt like, 'Yes, the suit is working.'

The former big-screen Batmen have said that the suit either inspired fear or made ladies go weak at the knees.

Right. That sounds like a lot of overblown, actory egos talking, doesn't it? [Laughs] And now I've just joined their ranks!

Do you feel that, by stepping into the shoes of this iconic character, you now have to live up to expectations from both the studio and the fans?

I've tried to remain as oblivious to all that as I can, but I'm certainly aware that there are people who are going to have a strong opinion regardless. I'll cop to getting a certain self-destructive thrill from taking on a role that many people might just revile me for, because it does present a challenge. But I got over that fear really quickly. I was just trying to nail the concept that Chris and I talked about for Batman, making him good and dark.

Do you think people who haven't read the graphic novels are ready for a really complex version of the Caped Crusader?

I think there's room to push the character even further into being a schizophrenic freak. I mean, the fact that he hasn't embraced his violent side entirely is what makes him so interesting. There's a great sense of conflict between him doing it for justice and doing it for revenge. But I'd really love to see us doing a Batman film in which there was a PG-rated cut and an R-rated cut. You know, do the same film, but have one version for everybody and one version in which you go to the extreme. [Pauses] I know it's a pipe dream, but the possibilities of what you could do with that seem very interesting.

Stepping into a role like this must be a double-edged sword. It will up your profile substantially, but there's baggage that goes with it. Do you think it might inhibit you from doing smaller films, like your roles in 'Laurel Canyon' or 'Velvet Goldmine'?

That's certainly occurred to me. On one hand, you know it's going to give you a certain amount of currency if it does well, so that you can help get worthwhile movies made that might normally wither on the vine. On the other hand, you might not be able to do a role in an indie film, because, hey, isn't that the guy who plays Batman? [Laughs] But that just means I have to work all that much harder to convince people that I can play other characters. I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to play a character I'd wanted to play for two or three years because I was worried about not getting another job. I didn't want to make a choice like that out of a sense of fear. If it does well, and I'm associated with the character, hey, so be it. It's another challenge for me to overcome.

'Batman Begins' hits cinemas next Thursday (June 16), andread our exclusive interview with director Christopher Nolan, click here.

• 
•