{"id":195200,"date":"2019-02-20T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/?p=195200"},"modified":"2019-02-20T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T17:00:00","slug":"trump-ist-groesser-als-man-denkt-interview-mit-christian-bale-ueber-vice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/2019\/02\/20\/trump-ist-groesser-als-man-denkt-interview-mit-christian-bale-ueber-vice\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTrump is Bigger Than You Think\u201d | Interview with Christian Bale about ‘Vice’"},"content":{"rendered":"

He is Hollywood\u2019s chameleon: for \u201cThe Machinist\u201d he lost 30 kilos. Sporting a big belly, 30 kilos heavier and bald, he appeared in \u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d. In the end, Christian Bale, born in Wales in 1974, won the Oscar for \u201cThe Fighter\u201d. That could happen once again for his performance as Dick Cheney in the political satire \u201cVice\u201d, which has received an impressive eight nominations in total. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Once again, Bale really piled on the weight to portray the burly US Vice President. We met the actor at the Berlinale, where \u201cVice\u201d had its \u201cout of competition\u201d premiere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Bale, how do you feel about attending the Oscars?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: For me, the Oscars are about celebrating filmmaking, it\u2019s nothing to do with competition as far as I\u2019m concerned. Of course, I\u2019m grateful for the nomination, it\u2019s wonderful. But let\u2019s be realistic: there are outstanding acting performances that get no recognition. Besides, good films are always the result of teamwork. I\u2019m looking forward to a lovely evening. You\u2019re pleased for whoever wins and celebrate together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You put on loads of weight for roles, then lose scary amounts, and now in this film you\u2019re as beefy as the real Dick Cheney. What does your family make of it?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: There was the idea to play Cheney without looking like him. But we scrapped that after two minutes, it just wouldn\u2019t have worked. For me, body and mind are connected. Make-up artists can achieve flawless results with prosthetics. But I don\u2019t want to set myself any limits. I do whatever I think is necessary. I\u2019m not a formally trained actor and I throw everything into the mix that matters for the role \u2013 that can include a physical transformation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aren\u2019t such rigorous transformations rather exhausting?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: Sure, but shouldn\u2019t they be? I actually like hard work. It gives you a sense you\u2019ve achieved something.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bale,
Hard to recognise: Christian Bale in his forties as Dick Cheney in his sixties.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Does it shock you when you look in the mirror fully made up as Dick Cheney?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: That only happens at the beginning, when we\u2019re still experimenting with the look. Once I\u2019ve reached the desired weight and the mask gets more detailed, you quickly get used to the new appearance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How long do the make-up artists take for this transformation?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: It took four hours before the mask was finished.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In \u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d you said your daughter loved your Buddha-belly. How was it this time?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: This time my son was absolutely thrilled. He bounced around on my belly and had a great time. My wife also likes the big belly as it means she looks much slimmer by comparison. (Laughs<\/i>)<\/p>\n

Do your children like you as \u201cBatman\u201d?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: Our kids have never seen \u201cBatman\u201d. We don\u2019t spend our time watching me. (Laughs<\/i>)<\/p>\n

What do you think is the most important quality in this profession?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: Endless curiosity, I would say. With every new role I have no idea how I\u2019m going to play it. People often say I\u2019m a method actor, but I\u2019m really not. I approach my role as I act it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you need to have overlaps with your roles? Or can you play anyone?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: Some very good actors say the character must always be an extension of themselves. For me, I want to free myself as much as possible from a role. I see my job as creating my character from scratch. Whether I succeed, that\u2019s for the audience to decide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there anything you actually like about this powerful man, Dick Cheney?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: You have to admire how he unhesitatingly supported his daughter Mary when she came out \u2013 which was completely against his conservative views. Everyone I spoke to described Cheney as a very loving father and husband.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vice,
In younger days: Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney and Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in Adam McKay\u2019s VICE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How much did you know about Dick Cheney before the film?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: Of course I\u2019d heard the rumours that Cheney was the big puppeteer in politics and pulled the strings in the Iraq war. But how long he\u2019d been involved in politics and the methods he used, that was all completely new to me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You once compared Cheney to Darth Vader…<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: Cheney very much likes to compare himself to Darth Vader. He fitted out his grandchildren\u2019s nursery with Darth Vader toys. He also used to frighten his staff by sitting behind his desk in the office wearing a Darth Vader mask. You can find plenty of examples on YouTube where he calls himself Darth Vader and has a great laugh about it. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you think Dick Cheney is more dangerous than Donald Trump?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: An intelligent person who understands things is always more dangerous than someone who\u2019s impulsive and loud. I\u2019m not saying Trump isn\u2019t dangerous \u2013 of course he is. But he\u2019s no comparison to Cheney. Cheney was a power chess player \u2013 can you imagine Trump playing chess? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve met Trump before…<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: We shot scenes for \u201cBatman\u201d in Trump Tower, which in the film becomes Wayne Tower. Trump invited me to his office and the producers said you\u2019d better go or he might throw us out. So I met him in my Bruce Wayne costume, with red tie and slicked-back hair, I looked a bit like Trump Junior. He wanted to show me loads of souvenirs. His office is decorated with plenty of gold and Trump is taller than you\u2019d think.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have a list of characters you\u2019d still like to play? The Pope? The Queen? A transgender person?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bale<\/b>: No, I don\u2019t have a plan and I tend to accept the chaos of my job and enjoy the unknown. But your list doesn\u2019t sound bad: Pope, Queen, transgender \u2013 preferably all three together! (Laughs<\/i>)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Photos: \u00a9 Matt Kennedy \/ Annapurna Pictures<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He is Hollywood\u2019s chameleon: for \u201cThe Machinist\u201d he lost 30 kilos. Sporting a big belly, 30 kilos heavier and bald, he appeared in \u201cAmerican \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":243433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-195200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview-kino","category-kino","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berlin030.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}