Intelligencer

‘Rescue Dawn’ Star Is Bale and Hearty

Unruffled by maggots, diets, radioactivity.

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By Jada Yuan
Published Jul 9, 2007

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(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

The acting world’s leading masochist, Christian Bale, who swam in snake-infested Thai rivers and ate live maggots to star in Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn, insists his job isn’t that tough. “I think a lot of actors can talk a lot of crap about how difficult it is,” he says. “Acting is simple. It’s using your imagination. If you have any interest in other people whatsoever, acting is very easy.” And please don’t ask him about the weight he had to lose and then pack back on for the role. “It’s not something I want to do again. Because that’s all anyone ever talks about. I lost weight for The Machinist last time, and no one talked about the movie. The story is the main thing, not how much weight an actor lost. That’s boring crap.” Also boring: talking about the difficulties the cast and crew had getting out of Thailand. (“We had armed men trying to help us get out and armed men trying to stop us from leaving. I think I’ve said enough.”) Apparently, even a nuclear disaster doesn’t faze him. “I was in Chernobyl right after it blew up,” Bale says. “As far as I can tell, I’m doing just fine.”