Christian Bale has done it all in the world of film; he’s an Academy-Award-winning actor, former Batman, and the best American Psycho. But during his latest blockbuster, Thor: Love and Thunder, he did something for the first time.
Many were surprised an actor like Bale would play a Marvel villain, but his reasoning was simple. Bale was a fan of Thor: Ragnarok and felt Gorr was an “intriguing character.” Though, once he got onto the set, he found it was something he wasn’t fully prepared for.
During an interview with GQ, Bale opened up about the production of the latest Thor entry. While he praised the people he worked with, the actor struggled with the structure of filming on green screens.
“That’s the first time I’ve done that,” said Bale. “I mean, the definition of it is monotony. You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me. Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do. I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next. They kept saying, ‘You’re on Stage Three.’ Well, it’s like, ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.’ ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ I was like, ‘Uh, where?'”
The actor didn’t even do his infamous method acting, where he’s known to stay in character between takes. Bale laughed off the concept for a film like Thor: Love and Thunder. “That would’ve been a pitiful attempt to do that,” he said. “As I’m trying to get help getting the fangs in and out and explaining I’ve broken a nail, or I’m tripping over the tunic.”
You can see Christian Bale this week alongside Margot Robbie and John David Washington in David O. Russell’s Amsterdam, while Thor: Love and Thunder is available on Disney+ and home entertainment formats.
Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder” finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey, unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Directed by Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi, who also reprises his CGI role as Korg, Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor), alongside the returning Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif), Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Dave Bautista (Drax) and Sean Gunn (Kraglin), with Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari) as Gorr the God Butcher and Russell Crowe (Man of Steel) as Zeus.
