Christian Bale is arguably the greatest living actor of his generation. The British-American actor recently turned 45 but still looks like he just turned 30. Bale is best known for starring as the titular Batman in the dark-themed superhero film The Dark Knight. The actor has now starred in three Batman-related movies – The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Batman vs. Dracula – and he will star in the upcoming Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix. I sat down with Bale to talk about his upcoming film projects, his thoughts on the current state of Batman/Joker, and so much more.
The Joker (Joaquin Phoenix)
Wondering what it would be like to see the Joker in animated GIF form? Then you’re in luck because we have just the thing for you. You can check out Christian Bale and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker in all his glory in the video above.
The video is part of a larger piece detailing the evolution of the Joker over the years. The video also features cameos by other famous faces and actors including Robert Pattinson and Danny DeVito. The actor discussed how he researched and prepared for the role of the Joker, as well as some of the challenges that come with taking on such a memorable character. He also talked about starring in Joker, which hits theaters this Summer.
Batman (Robert Pattinson)
While we’re on the subject of Batman, let’s not forget about his BFF (best friend forever) Robert Pattinson. I’m sure we’re all still recovering from the shocking news that the Twilight stars were feuding and breaking up. After getting their marriage license in Vegas earlier this year, Pattinson and his wife, Bella, have been staying busy since then. The couple has been spotted out on numerous occasions, including a dinner with Christian Bale and Tom Hardy, and they’ve also been spotted at several movie premieres and award shows, including the Golden Globes. They recently made headlines when they were accused of assaulting a photographer at the Met Gala in New York City. The incident was reportedly caused by the stress of being paparazzi stars. The couple has two kids and lives in England with his family. You can’t keep a good secret for long, not when the paparazzi have something to write about. Just a few months ago, their story was a Hollywood romance. Now they’re best friends with Christian Bale and Tom Hardy – one of the world’s most recognizable celebrity pairs. It’s crazy how times change. Let’s all appreciate how lucky we are to still have Robert Pattinson and Christian Bale as our favourite leading men.
The Dark Knight Rises
Speaking of celebrity pairs, let’s not forget about Christian Bale and his other famous BFF (best friend forever) Tom Hardy. The two British superstitions teamed up for another installment of the Dark Knight saga. The film was directed by Christopher Nolan, the creator of the Batman universe. Dark Knight Rises is the third and final installment in the director’s trilogy that began with The Dark Knight in 2008. Like its predecessors, Dark Knight Rises is filled with action, drama, and strange humor. The film follows Bane, who forces Gotham to submit to the dark side. He accomplishes this by kidnapping the wealthy children of Gotham, offering them as bait to get Batman’s attention. The film also stars Gary Oldman and Anne Hathaway. It was released in theaters in North America on July 20 and is set for a UK release on July 27.
The Dark Knight Rises was one of the most acclaimed movies of all time. It currently has a score of 94% on Metacritic, indicating “universal acclaim.” It won the Golden Globe for Best International Film as well as the prestigious BAFTA award for Best British Film. It is also ranked #48 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 50 greatest films of all time. To find out more, you can read the original review here.
Batman vs. Dracula
Lastly, but certainly not least, we have Christian Bale and the vampire. The actor has been busy doing press for his new movie, Batman vs. Dracula, in which he plays Dracula’s great-grandfather, the titular Batman. The film is set for release on October 25 and was directed by Patrick Lussier. The French director has previously made comedies and music videos, and he used his training as a stylist to ensure the most realistic looking vampires (courtesy of Jack Pierce).
You may know Christian Bale from his roles as Batman in The Dark Knight and The Fighter, but he’s also been in a number of smaller, independent films, many of which you may have overlooked. Batman vs. Dracula marks Bale’s first time playing a character other than Batman, and he says that the experience has been one of the most challenging of his career. He also discussed what it means to be British and how he plans on representing Dracula in the near future.
You can read our in-depth interview with Christian Bale here.
As you can see, Christian Bale has quite the busy schedule these days, but it’s all worth it because of all the amazing projects he has managed to get involved in. He’s proven himself more than deserving of the title of “Greatest Living Actor.” At the same time, it’s also worth noting that he’s still pretty humble about all of this. When Nolan was promoting The Dark Knight Rises in London, he stated that he was still surprised that people know who he is, considering all the amazing performances he’s given. But I think he’s more than aware of how much his work means to him and his fans. It wouldn’t be surprising if Christian Bale decided to end his Hall of Fame career soon, but until then, we should enjoy this brief moment of peace.