Christian Bale starred in American Hustle as central figure Irving Rosenfeld, and the movie role is among the many in which Bale underwent an incredible transformation in order to play the part to the best of his ability. American Hustle follows Irving and his mistress partner, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who con their way through the 70s until catching the suspicions of Agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) and the weight of the FBI. To secure their freedom and avoid sentences of their own, the con man and his partner forces with the law to take down higher-priority criminals, including New Jersey power brokers and the mafia.
Compelling roles are anything but new to Christian Bale; he has featured in roles that range from the skilled superhero Batman to the famed sports car driver, Ken Miles. Christian Bale's character roles are normally executed extremely well, often leading fans or audiences to speculate that he practices method acting. Despite refuting the rumors, once commenting, "You know, people call me that. And I don't really know what it is," (via Unilad) Bale has been witnessed across numerous films to endure massive personal changes for the sake of his roles, and American Hustle is a typical example.
Christian Bale Gained 43 Pounds For His American Hustle Role
Bale's American Hustle character, Irving Rosenfeld, is loosely inspired by con artist Melvin Weinberg, who became an informant for the FBI in the 1970s sting operation Abscam. In American Hustle, Irving's love interest Sydney describes him as "not necessarily in good shape" and donning a comb-over, but she falls for Irving anyway professing that his unwavering confidence makes him unapologetically himself - a con man who doesn't pay attention to caring. To fully express this sentiment and to depict certain traits within Weinberg, Christian Bale gained an astounding 43 pounds for the role of Irving.
According to an interview with People, Bale was seriously committed to representing Irving. He shaved his head in order to appear balding and consumed enough food to increase his weight up from 185 to 228 pounds. He confessed that a combination of doughnuts and cheeseburgers contributed to the characters protruding belly and heavier build.
American Hustle Isn't Bale's First Role That Needed A Drastic Weight Change
His transformation into Irving is reminiscent of the massive physical changes Bale has endured to portray a number of roles throughout his acting career. Famously, Christian Bale lost a total of 63 pounds to play chronic insomnia sufferer Trevor Reznik in the 2004 thriller The Machinist. The very next year, Bale landed the part of Batman and began packing on weight, an estimated 100 pounds, for Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005). By 2006, Bale again shed an undetermined amount of weight to appear in Rescue Dawn as a US fighter pilot - but was soon called on again by Christopher Nolan to return as Batman for The Dark Knight (2008), where Bale was encouraged to restore his superhero physique.
While Bale's commitment to his roles is astounding, the extreme fluctuations in his physicality that occur in such short amounts of time is even more astonishing. Fans, and the actor himself, have criticized the lengths he's gone to to get ready for certain parts. Christian Bale's American Hustle performance certainly wasn't his final notable transformation, but he has since acknowledged his health and age as serious factors that cannot be ignored when preparing for his chosen roles.
Sources: Unilad, People
