Christian Bale revealed that transforming into Frankenstein's monster for Maggie Gyllenhaal's 'The Bride!' required six hours in the makeup chair each day. To cope with the lengthy process, he screamed loudly, eventually involving the entire crew. The film reimagines the 1935 classic 'Bride of Frankenstein,' with Bale starring opposite Jessie Buckley.
Christian Bale shared details of his grueling preparation for playing Frankenstein's monster in 'The Bride!,' directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bale explained that the daily makeup transformation took six hours, far longer than the one and a half hours required for co-star Jessie Buckley's portrayal of the Bride. Buckley, an Oscar nominee for 'Hamnet,' joins Bale in this reimagining of the 1935 film 'Bride of Frankenstein.'
To endure the restraint of sitting still for so long, Bale resorted to screaming. 'I would scream like crazy, every day. Just to [release the] despair, all of that restraint that you have to display when you’re sitting still for that long,' he said, adding that it helped him avoid going insane. He avoided screaming while driving to work, fearing it might cause an accident, and initially did it alone to prevent others from thinking he was losing his mind.
The outbursts caught on with the crew. 'Oh man, I’m telling you, the whole crew got involved by the end because people would hear us screaming. We would open the doors, and gradually, a bit like the Bride’s revolution, a few people were going, “Can we do it too?” And then by the end, there were like 30 people who would hear us and run to the makeup trailer to be a part of it and scream as well,' Bale recounted.
Bale's commitment reflects his history of extreme physical changes for roles. For 'American Psycho,' he followed an all-protein diet to bulk up. He then lost 60 pounds over four months to reach 120 pounds for 'The Mechanist,' surviving on water, an apple, and one cup of coffee daily. Later, he gained 100 pounds of muscle in six months for 'Batman Begins' as Bruce Wayne.
'The Bride!' is set to open in theaters on March 6 from Warner Bros.
