Christian Bale: A Knight in Batman Armor

Don’t expect to see Christian Bale do any lightweight comedies anytime soon. The critically acclaimed British actor, 34, is known for his weighty roles in movie dramas. Bale is so committed to the characters that he plays that he’s been known to physically transform his body if it will make him more convincing in the role. In the blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” Bale returns as Batman, the superhero role he stepped into in 2005’s “Batman Begins.” Bale recently opened up about making “The Dark Knight,” what he thinks about the late Heath Ledger’s performance in the movie and why he’s ready to take on another movie icon: the Terminator.

How did you feel about stepping into the Batman suit this time around?

It was heavier, but it was much more comfortable. There’s like 110 parts to this one, and there were three to the original [Batman suit in “Batman Begins”]. I can move my head; it was more mobile for the fighting method we used. The suit was more compatible with that. Whereas with the suit we used in [“Batman Begins”], I had to fight against the suit in order to do the fight sequences. In every way, [the new Batman suit] was more advanced and, I think, more in keeping with images the military has of future soldiers and their gear.

Can you talk about why the Joker has such a tremendous impact on Batman, perhaps more than any other villain?

There’s a great dynamic. The Joker is just gleeful to come up against Batman, because everyone has been too easy. He’s an intelligent psychopath, and he’s bent on chaos and destruction, and if that means self-destruction, so be it. It’s impossible to leverage him, because he’s not looking for anything but living in the moment and living in that anarchy. He’s completely uncompromising, as is Batman, but Batman has this one rule: He will not kill.

What are your thoughts on Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”?

I knew that the tone of Chris Nolan’s Gotham was one that we never wanted to have caricatures. We never wanted to have the actor peeking through and winking at the audience, and showing, “Hey, what a great time I’m having playing this funny, larger-than-life character.” We wanted to stay serious and dramatic with these portrayals of every single character. Heath was wonderful with that. He completely immersed himself. When he was the Joker, he was the Joker throughout.

What do you think about the interpretation of your Bruce Wayne character as someone who’d be perfectly happy to retire Batman?

That’s what [Bruce Wayne] believes and what he wishes for: Batman to become obsolete. The beacon of hope and light for that is [the district attorney character] Harvey Dent … In a good, civilized society, Batman isn’t necessary. So if an elected official can have integrity and stamp down on corruption and crack down on crime, then Batman is not necessary. And he can return to his life as Bruce Wayne, which has become a void. He’s a lonely man; he’s suffered a great deal. The more he commits to Batman, the more he pays the price in his own personal life … Whilst his ideal is to leave the Batman creature behind, I think it’s become an addiction as well. There’s a duality throughout everything.

You started out as a child actor, and you have a three-year-old daughter named Emmeline. How do you feel about children becoming actors?

I think that introducing children to a professional industry where they may not recognize the pressure but … which is an adult industry, I would be very skeptical about putting anybody I cared about and is close to me into this professionally at a young age. I would absolutely support it as a hobby and as an amateur pursuit, but to enter into it professionally is a whole different ball game.

Moving on to your next movies, you play FBI agent Melvin Purvis in the 2009 movie “Public Enemies,” which is about the FBI’s manhunt of gangsters like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd. Is the movie close to the historical facts or is it a heavily fictionalized version of history?

[“Public Enemies” director] Michael Mann is one of the most thorough researchers that I have come across, so I had more than an abundance of information. I traveled to FBI headquarters, went around Quantico [the Virginia city where the FBI is headquartered], I met with the family of the character I was playing. We shot at the locations where the actual events took place. It was uncanny that we were filming on the actual dates where the gun fights happened, in the same place, at the same time. It stays true to the events, but as with many movies, in trying to condense a story into two hours, there’s some license taken. But believe me, Michael is like an incredible private investigator in the way that he approaches his moviemaking and the nuances and the details that he’s interested in. I had a fantastic time working with him.

You’re playing John Connor in the 2009 movie “Terminator Salvation.” Why did you decide to do another big movie franchise?

In a similar fashion to the way that “Batman Begins” revitalized and reinvented [the Batman franchise] … I see that there is great potential for reinvention and revitalization of the mythology of [the “Terminator” movies]. That’s what I’m aiming to do. That’s what I feel like our responsibility is; otherwise, there’s no point in making it.