Christian Bale explains why he doesn’t like being called a movie star
There are some acting figures who are absolutely undeniable stars, although, for every actor who has experienced colossal fame and loved the limelight, there is another who has much preferred to stay out of it and retain an air of privacy. In terms of the latter sect, Christian Bale is someone who certainly slots in nicely.
Sure enough, Bale is one of the most recognisable names in Hollywood and looking back over his career, it’s easy to see why. Coming through as a child actor in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, Bale eventually made the transition to adult roles and made his breakthrough with an effort as Patrick Bateman in Mary Harron’s 2000 adaptation of American Psycho.
From there, Bale never looked back and continued to amass impressive acting credits, beginning with a physically transformative role in The Machinist and then a series of brilliant efforts in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, plus The Fighter, The Big Short, American Hustle and Vice.
However, despite the admiration and acclaim that has been levied at Bale over the years, the truth is that he does not consider himself to be a movie star. When speaking to The Talks, Bale said that he enjoys doing smaller movies just as much as big blockbusters because “you don’t have all this nonsense of people calling you a movie star and stuff like that.”
He explained, “I don’t feel like that at all. People started offering me these roles that are thought of as ‘movie star’ roles, but I try to make a character out of it. I never felt myself to be that, and I never really had any desire to be that.” Playing Batman for Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly a way for an actor to fit into the bracket of the movie star, but what’s more important for Bale is the character and the story.
“I am not in it because I like being the centre of attention,” he said. “In fact, I can’t stand it unless I am acting – then I can do anything, I don’t care.”
Bale went on to say that he prefers to remain “low key” in his personal life, and when he takes on a big blockbuster role, it’s just like any other acting performance, so when people call him a “movie star”, he is slightly perturbed because he doesn’t think he’s “cut from that cloth”.
Naturally, one might think that big movie roles require less attention than smaller dramas, but Bale still finds a lot within them that allows him to flex his performative muscles. “I like the emotion,” the anti-movie star said. “That’s what I do. When I first read a script and decide that there’s something in it that I can try, I like to remember that feeling. I very much enjoy trying to put myself in other people’s shoes.”
So, when we think of the biggest contemporary movie stars, it’s easy to conjure up the image of Christian Bale saving Gotham City, but the truth is that the English actor would prefer to keep a low profile. Sure, he’s one of Hollywood’s most recognisable faces, but in the eyes of the actor himself, the work he does is no different to a fellow performer who limits themselves to small independent dramas, and that’s the sign of a proper actor, not a movie star.
