Today, we marvel at the renowned and complex work of actor Enzo Vogrincic and his companions in 'The Snow Society', who sacrificed their health to lose weight and give total realism to the acclaimed film. We also have the example of Joaquin Phoenix in 'Joker'. On the contrary, there are those who gain extra kilos, such as the case of Brendan Fraser to play Charlie in 'The Whale'. The award? Both actors took home the prestigious golden Oscar statuette for best actor.
However, one of the famous actors who took this practice to an extreme was Christian Bale. The British Hollywood figure is especially recognized for her body transformations when gaining and losing weight. The biggest challenge he faced in the movie 'The Machinist' (2004). In this project, he lost 30 kilos to play Trevor Reznik. Despite all his effort and dedication to give total realism to his character, since Bale did not trust special effects, he was not rewarded with a statuette, as in the case of Phoenix and Fraser. Worse yet, he wasn't even nominated that year.
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What did Christian Bale do to lose 30 kilos?
British actor Christian bale He put in considerable effort to play Trevor Reznik in the film 'The Machinist', in 2004. At the time, aged 29, Bale lost an extreme amount of weight – he went from 80kg to just 50kg in four months – to reflect the extremely thin physical state of his character, who suffers from severe insomnia in the film. .
To achieve this change, Bale followed an extreme low-calorie diet, consuming only one apple and a can of tuna a day, which is equivalent to about 250 calories. This process, supplemented with coffee and water, was designed to speed up her metabolism. Bale was supervised by doctors and took multivitamins to maintain his health during this process.
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Official trailer for 'The Machinist' (2004)
What is 'The Machinist' about?
Trevor Reznik, a factory employee, suffers from a serious insomnia problem that has affected him for a year, causing hallucinations and physical and mental deterioration. His co-workers avoid him because of his appearance and then plot against him after an incident in which he is involved.
Trevor feels guilty and ashamed, and his paranoia increases when he finds cryptic notes and learns of the nonexistence of a mysterious companion. He wonders if this is all part of a plan to drive him crazy or if it's fatigue affecting his sanity.
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In which other movies did Christian Bale drastically gain and lose weight?
In 'American Psycho', according to Christian Bale, it was very difficult for him to play the character of Patrick Bateman, who had to show off well-defined and almost perfect abs. To achieve optimal fitness, Bale eliminated carbohydrates from his diet and focused on protein.
However, one of the most striking cases occurred after starring in 'The Machinist'. The following year, in 2005, the actor had the opportunity to play Bruce Wayne in 'Batman Begins' and went from being extremely thin to gaining 45 kilograms of pure muscle. “I ate like crazy,” recalled the actor, who ate mainly hamburgers and dedicated himself to exercising.
