Christian Bale names his favourite film of all time
Recognised as one of modern cinema’s greatest actors, the British actor Christian Bale has worked with some of the most established filmmakers of the contemporary craft, including Christopher Nolan, David O.Russell, Adam McKay, Steven Spielberg, Kenneth Branagh, Terrence Malick and Ridley Scott. Entering the industry as a youngster in the late 1980s, Bale has grown into a key figure in the industry.
Setting himself apart from most modern actors, Bale’s unrivalled dedication to the craft is staggering, with many roles seeing him drastically transform his body to perfectly embody any given character. This was best demonstrated in the 2004 movie The Machinist, where Bale lost approximately 60 pounds in just four months, eating and drinking just water, an apple and one cup of coffee per day.
14 years later and Bale would perform the opposite physical transformation, gaining 40 pounds to play the role of former VP Dick Cheney in Adam McKay’s Vice. Appearing beside the likes of Steve Carell, Amy Adams and Sam Rockwell, Bale gave an award-winning performance that reflected the mannerisms of the vice president as well as his physical attributes, with the actor also shaving his head and bleaching his eyebrows for the role.
One might therefore think that the actor’s favourite film would be an intricate character study or brooding arthouse flick. However, Christian Bale’s number one pick is something else entirely.
Speaking in an interview with Yahoo back in 2010, Bale surprisingly revealed that his favourite movie of all time is the Chris Farley-led 1997 comedy Beverly Hills Ninja. Making him cry on several occasions, Bale has a strong adoration for the movie that also features the likes of Chris Rock, Nicollette Sheridan, Nathaniel Parker, Robin Shou and more.
Asked about his favourite film by the publication, the actor explained, “I always choose… the default answer for me is Beverly Hills Ninja. It’s an easy one to give because most people go, ‘What? Oh, okay.’ But Chris Farley’s fantastic. Clearly I’ve got other films, but I just watched that two nights in a row and was crying with laughter both times, so I just went, ‘Yeah I’ll give that as my answer’”.
Where other high-profile actors might have referenced the films of Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino, it’s quite refreshing to hear Bale go for a camp 1990s comedy as his all-time favourite.
The actor is next due to appear in the David O.Russell movie Amsterdam which follows three friends in the 1930s who find themselves at the very centre of one of the most shocking plots in American history. Bale joins a remarkable ensemble cast that includes the likes of Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Taylor Swift, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mike Myers, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldaña, Timothy Olyphant and Michael Shannon.
