Transforming his body for roles has become pretty standard for Christian Bale, who famously dropped 60+ pounds to play Trevor Reznik in The Machinist, got super-ripped for American Pyscho and Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, then let it all hang out for American Hustle. We assumed he’d alter his appearance again after being cast as Dick Cheney in Backseat, since Cheney is older and portlier. Because really, why would director Adam McKay consider casting someone who already looked the part when he could count on Bale doing whatever he felt necessary to embody the man who ruled the country while at George W. Bush’s side?
As for what went into transforming himself to more closely resemble Cheney, who once shot a guy in the face, Bale revealed his new regimen on the TIFF red carpet, The Independent reports. It’s a pretty straightforward plan: “I’ve just been eating a lot of pies,” Bale said with a smile. As for adopting the half-snarling face of evil that Cheney so often sported, Bale is presumably just going to think about how the former veep misrepresented reports about weapons of mass destruction to push for the war in Iraq. Meanwhile, Steve Carell’s research into his Donald Rumsfeld role in Backseat involves mismanaging the country’s defense department.
