Bale's emaciated form is the first in a series of striking images that hit home in THE MACHINIST. The story of a working joe who suffers from insomnia, and his gradual descent into madness, the film sees Bale take the reins of a story set in the humorless banality of blue collar hell. When his sleep deprivation causes a major industrial accident at the factory in which he works, Trevor Redneck's (Bale) world begins to crumble from the inside out. The mystery of what causes his sleeplessness may also be behind his increasing unease and paranoia and Trevor sets off on a journey to discover the truth behind his madness. All he really wants to do is find out the truth, and get a little sleep. Unfortunately for Trevor, there's...

No Rest For The Wicked
An Interview With Christian Bale
By Antony Teofilo

Antony Teofilo: Matt Damon damaged his liver by eating only a spare amount of potato when he tried to lose weight for a role. Did you have any medical help in preparing you to lose an extreme amount of weight?

Christian Bale: Just a nutritionist, who I just visited one time to inquire about the kind of deficiencies in vitamins and minerals and things, so I got those pills. After that, I was my own guide. I figured if I was feeling okay, then I must be okay.

Q: Was there any worry that you could do some lasting damage to yourself?

CB: I had a kind of stupid feeling of invincibility. I just wanted to do this the one time. I'd be very cautious about doing this a second time for anything. There's also a novelty factor. There was the challenge where I wondered was I able to do that? Was it possible? I managed it more so than I expected. I feel like I proved it to myself that I could do it. I didn't actually feel bad until I started eating again. I did it somewhat too rapidly, and apparently had the cholesterol levels of a 90 year old man. I gorged too much.

Q: What food did you crave while on your extreme diet?

CB: Initially, it was apples. I would literally dream about mountains of apples.

Q: How was your personality affected by such an extreme action?

CB: I would get temperamental at times at the beginning, before I realized that I had to change my entire life, and my social life. While I was still trying to pursue that, I would get very annoyed because I felt how much I was missing out. I'd see friends drinking and eating, and you suddenly realize how dependent you are on that to socialize with everybody. You sit there, and you're not taking part, and you feel like you're no fun. When my stomach had not really adjusted yet, it was just moaning...but then you get to a point where you do go past that. You get accustomed to a real minimum of intake. At that point, you hit a kind of enlightenment. I can understand monks fasting, because it changes your mental outlook completely. I found myself almost unable to become angry or frustrated at almost anything. I didn't feel I had the energy to be able to do that. I was a very happy person during that period, though people didn't see me smiling too much.

Q: Looking at the movie, were the sacrifices you made worth it?

CB: I feel that it was, as long as I don't find that there's been any kind of damage, which I would really kick myself for. But I feel fine, so right now, I do feel like it was worth it. I think I also just wanted to see for myself, beyond the movie, I wanted to see if I could set myself a challenge, and achieve it, and have the mental discipline not to waiver. A lot of people have said, 'This isn't going to be a mainstream movie. You're not going to get that many people going to see it. So why did you do it?' It's not for that. To me, a movie doesn't become better just because a lot of people go see it. My primary satisfaction in making movies actually comes from the making of the movies. Some parts do require physical transformation, some don't. I think that this one really did. I really wouldn't want to do it again anytime soon.

Q: How did it affect you at home?

CB: My wife very much loved being around Trevor, who was very calm and patient and quiet. He was great company, who was maybe only a little bit too quiet. Immediately when I started eating and digesting, you get that energy back, and with that comes the tempera mentality. I wouldn't want to be in that kind of zen-like state for the rest of my life, but it was very interesting to visit it. For my wife...it was good insight for her as to what my ass is going to look like when I'm 90. [Laughs].

Q: Did you use anything to inspire yourself to stay loyal to your quest to transform yourself physically?

CB: I had a picture of Hank Williams that I had, which was always my motivation of physically where I wanted to get to. It was a very deteriorated picture. I also enjoyed listening to his music, and some Neil Young, and this other group Global Communications which is very trancelike, which I felt fit Trevor's state of mind.

Q: What do you think audience reaction will be like?

CB: I think THE MACHINIST will be more like...the movies that have cult followings, more than myself. I've done many different kinds of movies. Look at VELVET GOLDMINE or AMERICAN PSYCHO, or ALL THE LITTLE ANIMALS, or METROLAND. They tended to amass a small but very appreciative crowd of people. I imagine THE MACHINIST will probably amass that same kind of feeling in audiences. I think that [the movie] is inevitably not going to be everyone's cup of tea by any stretch of the imagination. I do hope that the people who do appreciate it really appreciate it. I see it myself, in comparison to many movies that I've made which I've been disappointed with, THE MACHINIST is kind of a classic movie to me. It will be interesting to see if anyone actually shares that opinion or not, or if it will just have a cult following of...me. [Laughs].

Q: Is your version of the Batman story more character driven [like Burton's Batman] or action driven [a la the Shumacher travesties]?

CB: We're doing a prequel, so it's very much looking at Bruce Wayne and how he came to invent and create this character and how he became this nutcase that runs around dressed as a bat.

Q: Can you talk about what it feels like to step into the cape and cowl? Does it feel cool? Do you feel grumpy all of the time?

CB: The first couple of times, it was great because it helps you get how to play it. I always had a question...I always found it kind of laughable that a guy thinks he's going to be scary walking around dressed like a bat. I'd laugh at him. I'd look at him and say, 'What kind of nutcase are you? Get out of my face?' I really thought how can you really take that to a point, where he has to sincerely have this rage and this focus on this despising of criminals and his promise that he makes to his parents to rid the city of [the criminals]. In a way, what I saw it as, is that it's very difficult in life to make a promise to yourself, and then really keep that clarity of thought that you may have had at that lucid moment, and maintain that intensity. Adopting this different persona helps him maintain that intensity. In donning the suit, I also felt like he couldn't be anything but a creature, that I no longer wanted to present this as Bruce Wayne dressed as a bat. He becomes a different creature himself. Partly out of the necessity of disguise, but also out of his own necessity an attempt to keep himself sane in his own life. I felt like if I didn't play it this one certain way, I'd just feel like an idiot standing in a bat suit the whole time.

Q: Do you feel like you brought something fresh to the character?

CB: I do, [laughs] but so often you hear actors say that, and then you say, 'I'm going to go check that out', and then you look at it, and you say, 'What did you really do? Did you actually do anything different?' I do feel that, but we'll have to wait and see if I managed it. If I didn't do it, than there'll be somebody else in there when number two comes around.

Q: Could we ever see you return to your musical roots?

I don't really like musicals very much. I wanted to try that one, and I swore afterwards that I would never do it again. Now, I'm not so sure. I do hate the idea of ever becoming predictable to myself. Certainly, if there was some fresh take on a musical that I felt would be an interesting endeavor that would challenge me to try, then yeah, I would actually be open to that.

Q: What's next for you after BATMAN?

I'm doing a movie called NEW WORLD, with one of my favorite directors ever, Terrence Malick. Then I have something planned for December...which is going to be like a one million dollar budget, shot on digital, in about twenty days, which I just love coming off of BATMAN, which was seven months. What I really want to avoid is doing a movie like BATMAN, and then you have to continue doing those big movies.

Check some of the pics from Bales take on the dark knight, and it looks like we're in for a treat, especially considering the last offerings in the Batman franchise have been guano. As for THE MACHINIST, hit this flick if you're looking for deep character exploration, and an amazing physical performance by Christian Bale.

THE MACHINIST screws with you in limited release on October 22nd, 2004.

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