Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Christian Bale:
The first time I saw this actor was in the movie "American Psycho." Tonight, I watched him in "The Machinist." In "American Psycho," he was buffed and the eiptome of physical fitness. For "The Machinist," Bale did not eat for weeks in order to have the emanciated look that was required for the story. Jennifer Jason Leigh (who plays the character Stevie in the movie) and the director express their amazement at Bale's immerision into the role. I have a lot of respect for Bale. What's also amazing is that after this movie, he was again able to get himself buff for "Batman Begins." I haven't looked up the details, but I'm assuming that "Batman Begins" was filmed after "The Machinst" considering "Batman" was released this year, and "Machinst" was released last year.
If I were in Bale's shoes, I'm not sure I could make the transformation. Maybe an actor's paycheck might help me do so, but I'm not sure I could have the same dedication even with that incentive. After all, if I were an actor, I'm sure I could find other work that did not require me to torture my body. I do think that getting "ripped" for a role might be something that I could be motivated to do. After all, I am trying to get myself in shape just for my own physical wellbeing and of course to help me get dates.
Charlize Theron and Renee Zelleweger also earn my respect for the weight gain they did for their roles (Theron in "Monster" and Zelleweger for "Bridget Jones Diary). Getting fat is easy, but it must be really hard psycholocically for actresses. They surely thought about how brutal the press and public are about extra weight. For example, I remember that Kate Winslet was giving grief for being too fat in "Titanic" (I thought she looked good in that movie). As I struggle with weight issues, I know how hard it must have been for Charlize and Renee to lose the weight after filiming finished. We know that they had to know that they needed to lose the weight after filiming or it would hurt their careers. That's the sad reality of Hollywood.
I'll close with some honorable mentions of actors and actresses that also did some major work with their bodies for movie roles. Tom Hanks, of course, lost a ton of weight for "Castaway." Will Smith buffed up for "Ali," and Hillary Swank for "Million Dollar Baby." Finally, who could forget Arnold. He worked out crazy to be Mr. Universe and he stayed buffed for his movie roles. I remember reading that he again did some heavy workouts so he would look good for "Terminator 3."
The first time I saw this actor was in the movie "American Psycho." Tonight, I watched him in "The Machinist." In "American Psycho," he was buffed and the eiptome of physical fitness. For "The Machinist," Bale did not eat for weeks in order to have the emanciated look that was required for the story. Jennifer Jason Leigh (who plays the character Stevie in the movie) and the director express their amazement at Bale's immerision into the role. I have a lot of respect for Bale. What's also amazing is that after this movie, he was again able to get himself buff for "Batman Begins." I haven't looked up the details, but I'm assuming that "Batman Begins" was filmed after "The Machinst" considering "Batman" was released this year, and "Machinst" was released last year.
If I were in Bale's shoes, I'm not sure I could make the transformation. Maybe an actor's paycheck might help me do so, but I'm not sure I could have the same dedication even with that incentive. After all, if I were an actor, I'm sure I could find other work that did not require me to torture my body. I do think that getting "ripped" for a role might be something that I could be motivated to do. After all, I am trying to get myself in shape just for my own physical wellbeing and of course to help me get dates.
Charlize Theron and Renee Zelleweger also earn my respect for the weight gain they did for their roles (Theron in "Monster" and Zelleweger for "Bridget Jones Diary). Getting fat is easy, but it must be really hard psycholocically for actresses. They surely thought about how brutal the press and public are about extra weight. For example, I remember that Kate Winslet was giving grief for being too fat in "Titanic" (I thought she looked good in that movie). As I struggle with weight issues, I know how hard it must have been for Charlize and Renee to lose the weight after filiming finished. We know that they had to know that they needed to lose the weight after filiming or it would hurt their careers. That's the sad reality of Hollywood.
I'll close with some honorable mentions of actors and actresses that also did some major work with their bodies for movie roles. Tom Hanks, of course, lost a ton of weight for "Castaway." Will Smith buffed up for "Ali," and Hillary Swank for "Million Dollar Baby." Finally, who could forget Arnold. He worked out crazy to be Mr. Universe and he stayed buffed for his movie roles. I remember reading that he again did some heavy workouts so he would look good for "Terminator 3."
