Even though he is not impressed by The Machinist, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan couldn’t help heap praise on Christian Bale for his staggering weight cut while playing the lead role in the 2004 psychological thriller.
The decorated, award-winning actor played the role of Trevor Reznik — an emaciated Machinist. The actor stunningly lost 62 pounds for the role in a dangerous body mass transformation. To prepare for it, Bale went on a severe diet.
Beyond whiskey and cigarettes, he would consume a single apple, water, and coffee daily. That amounted to just 100 calories per day. Bale likely consumed just 5% of the recommended 2,000 calories required for adult males daily.
Grossing $8.2 million on a $5 million budget, the flick, directed by Brad Anderson, received somewhat of a cult following in recent years. Well, many films starring the Oscar-winning actor have attained such acclaim. Rogan claimed he was awestruck by Bale’s performance as a whole.
“He [Christian Bale] almost died making that Machinist movie,” Joe Rogan said on his podcast. “He got down to like 120lbs — played a guy with narcolepsy [sic].”
However, the movie wasn’t to his liking. “It’s not a terrible movie… It’s just not very good,” he said.
“But to have a guy who is like a leading man, and almost die for a movie that no one saw”, added Rogan, admiring the British actor.
Interestingly, in the months after the movie’s release, Bale had to bulk up for his role as the Caped Crusader in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. That required a complete reversal of his diet, putting his body through a different kind of strain.
Bale came under fire for weight gain
To put this into perspective, he was 110 lbs in The Machinist and had to gain 130 lbs — almost a bantamweight fighter in weight to play Bruce Wayne in the 2005 flick.
Notably, since the filming had to begin just months after playing the role of Reznik, Bale kept eating and working out, leading to a stocky physique. Rumors suggest director Nolan was less than thrilled with this transformation and had to urge Bale to lean out his physique.
Nolan apparently demanded that Bale lose at least 30 lbs to act in the lead role, or they would consider a new actor for the piece.
Years later, playing a co-lead role in The Fighter, Bale would once more go on an extreme weight loss. Playing drug user, Dicky Eklund — a trainer for Mark Wahlberg’s lead character, a boxer. Bale lost 30 quick pounds that time around.
However, he vowed never to undergo such a drastic change again. “It messed up my body and mind,” the Dark Knight actor said.
However, he did it again, losing about 70 lbs to play Ken Miles for Ford vs Ferrari. This role came after he gained a significant 40 lbs to fit into his character for the biopic of former US VP Dick Cheney while filming Vice.
