Christian Bale credits his Maserati-like ability to flip on his acting switch to the attention he pays to his characters as fully realized people. He’s able to transform physically and vocally because he pays a great deal of attention to who these characters are even when they’re not on screen. In the EW interview, he said one of the things that drew him toward working with Scott Cooper initially was because the role of Russell Baze in “Out of the Furnace” was so different from himself.
“As someone who has moved around my entire life, I find people [like Baze] who are rooted in a place — the people who stay — really fascinating,” he said. “That’s not me. Not in the slightest.” He continued praising the character’s geographical stability by saying, “Thank God there are people like that, because if everyone were like me the world would be chaos.”
While Bale is deeply invested in the interior lives of his characters, he’s also a fiercely guarded person. “He’s a private guy,” said Cooper. “You won’t find Christian at the bar after a day of wrap. He stays deeply ingrained.” Christian Bale is a known Method actor, a form of acting preparation that is hotly debated in entertainment circles. The ethics of Method acting could form an ongoing discourse until the end of time, but it seems to have helped Christian Bale develop the ability to come to the set ready to work, and already deeply immersed in his character. For better, or worse.
“The Pale Blue Eye” will release in select theaters on December 23, 2022, before it hits Netflix on January 6, 2023.
