Well, it sounds like Vice 2 isn’t happening.
As great an actor as Christian Bale is, perhaps the thing people talk most about with his performances are the physical transformations he makes. Whether it be for The Machinist, American Hustle, Batman Begins, The Fighter, or Vice, the Oscar winner has repeatedly fluctuated his weight to fit his latest role. But after losing 70 pounds to go from Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice to racer Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari, Bale says he’ll no longer be making these dramatic changes.
“I keep saying I’m done with it,” Bale tells CBS Sunday Morning in an interview airing this weekend. “I really think I’m done with it, yeah.”
While Bale might be over it, his Ford v Ferrari costar Matt Damon seemed to enjoy watching Bale’s process. “I had a great time watching him,” he said of Bale. “He’s got an incredible monk-like discipline…he went from Dick Cheney to this guy. So he had to lose 70 pounds.”
Bale’s transformations started in 2004 when he went all the way down to 120 pounds for The Machinist, but even he has his limits in recent years. In 2016, he, ironically, pulled out of director Michael Mann’s planned Enzo Ferrari biopic over concerns of the health effects of gaining the weight necessary to play the role, and doing so in time for the start date.
Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford II are characters in Ford v Ferrari, but the story follows fearless British racer Ken Miles (Bale) and maverick American car designer Carroll Shelby’s (Damon) in their pursuit of building a Ford race car that can beat Ferrari. “It’s these two friends figuring out how do you deal with these a–holes in suits who know nothing about racing,” Bale previously told EW. “It transcends racing and becomes something that captures the spirit of people who are willing to risk everything for their love.”
Bale and Damon’s full interview will air Sunday on CBS. Ford v Ferrari races into theaters on Nov. 15.
