The Dark Knight Christian Bale on the cover of GQ March 2007

[regwec]

And Christopher Lee.

 

[kidbateman]

and Walken.

 

[JackBauer24]

His weight issues do worry me slightly to be honest. Who knows how much his body can take?

 

[JackBauer24]

 

[regwec]

Yeah, he needs to...take it steady, if not easy. He isn't getting any younger, and I'd rather he was able to grow old in good health.

 

[Brian Braddock]

Lionel Luthor: The Early years:-

 

[Cinemaman]

His weight issues do worry me slightly to be honest. Who knows how much his body can take?

The last pic is the best one, he should stay so.

Bale is great and very talented actor, but he also need to look at his body and health. He should stop all this "getting thin" or "getting bulky" or it will hurt his health very seriously.

 

[Eros]

Bale strikes me as a guy, who may be on either be on diet pills, or useing some kind substance[or subtances] he should not be useing. He should be careful, I would hate to hear on the news, that he died of an overdose, or his body just broke down. He shifts weight to much, and getting down to 98 pounds,and then going back up to 220 [for batman begins] in a span of 4 months is not healthy. I don't want him to be one of those "what could of been actors", ala James Dean.

 

[JackBauer24]

Bale strikes me as a guy, who may be on either be on diet pills, or useing some kind substance[or subtances] he should not be useing.

There were some rumours a while back that he used steroids in order to bulk up from the Machinist for Batman Begins. Looking at that 'fat face' picture of him (bottom left) from the Machinist premiere... it's not that unbelievable.

 

[DA Harvey Dent]

Bale strikes me as a guy, who may be on either be on diet pills, or useing some kind substance[or subtances] he should not be useing. He should be careful, I would hate to hear on the news, that he died of an overdose, or his body just broke down. He shifts weight to much, and getting down to 98 pounds,and then going back up to 220 [for batman begins] in a span of 4 months is not healthy. I don't want him to be one of those "what could of been actors", ala James Dean.

There's a misconception that he gained 100 lbs. in 4 months. This wasn't the case at all.

He went from 125 lbs. at the close of the machinist to 180 lbs., his normal weight, for the Batman screen test which was in september. So within 1-2 months he went back to his normal weight. This is not an impossible task since your body reaches its normal state fairly quickly with plenty of water and food.

From september to january he bulked up to 220 lbs. So, 30 lbs. in 4 months is the realistic number. This is possible without gear. I'm not saying that he didn't use gear, but his weight gain over this period of time was possible without it given that he was lifting hard, eating like a horse, etc.

From january to march, when filming began, he dropped to 190 lbs. which was his final weight when he filmed Begins. This I find hard to believe he accomplished without use of some sort of diuretic.

So while its entirely possible that he did use gear to bulk up for Begins, given the real time frame and corresponding bodyweight numbers its equally plausible that he did it naturally. Except towards the end when he had to have used some sort of diuretic to lose 30 lbs. that fast (keep in mind, he lost ALL fat at this stage).

 

[Steelsheen]

There's a misconception that he gained 100 lbs. in 4 months. This wasn't the case at all.

He went from 125 lbs. at the close of the machinist to 180 lbs., his normal weight, for the Batman screen test which was in september. So within 1-2 months he went back to his normal weight. This is not an impossible task since your body reaches its normal state fairly quickly with plenty of water and food.

From september to january he bulked up to 220 lbs. So, 30 lbs. in 4 months is the realistic number. This is possible without gear. I'm not saying that he didn't use gear, but his weight gain over this period of time was possible without it given that he was lifting hard, eating like a horse, etc.

From january to march, when filming began, he dropped to 190 lbs. which was his final weight when he filmed Begins. This I find hard to believe he accomplished without use of some sort of diuretic.

So while its entirely possible that he did use gear to bulk up for Begins, given the real time frame and corresponding bodyweight numbers its equally plausible that he did it naturally. Except towards the end when he had to have used some sort of diuretic to lose 30 lbs. that fast (keep in mind, he lost ALL fat at this stage).

very interesting....

i wonder how they made Routh lose weight as well in order to fit his costume. its been reported that he was bursting at the seams as well and had to trim down.

 

[regwec]

Then the costume was too small!

 

[LostSon88]

I greatly admire Bale's dedication to the acting craft and the way he transforms himself into the characters he portrays. But he went to far when he lost all that weight for The Machinist. Ok frankly, it was just stupid, especially since that movie made like no $$. I think it caused some damage to his skin. He lost the youthful glow that he had in American Psycho and Equilibrium. Now he looks like he's dehydrated all the time. Ironic, since Patrick Bateman was so into moisturizing.

Yeah, cuz as we all know, Bale did it for the money.

He's a dedicated actor...if that's what he feels is necessary for the role than so be it. Hell its nice to have an actor these days that dedicated to their craft...unlike so many of these young hollywood tools who only show up to work when they feel like it ala Lindsay Lohan.

 

[DA Harvey Dent]

very interesting....

i wonder how they made Routh lose weight as well in order to fit his costume. its been reported that he was bursting at the seams as well and had to trim down.

Losing/gaining weight is all diet manipulation and training. The problem is time constraints which is why its more likely than not that hollywood actors take gear to get them where they need to be.

Its one thing to spend 1yr eating clean, lifting, etc. to get ripped. Its quite another to be in that shape in EXACTLY three months so as to not delay filming.

Plus, most of these actors aren't in the best of health to begin with so it would make sense that they need all the assistance they can get which includes gear.

Ultimately, no one really knows for sure. But one can make a good guess as to who did it naturally (tobey maguire) and who was most likely on some kind of gear (gerard butler).

 

[Steelsheen]

Then the costume was too small!

no kidding. there was a lot of things wrong with the costume, Routh having to compromise his build just to fit the costume is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Ultimately, no one really knows for sure. But one can make a good guess as to who did it naturally (tobey maguire) and who was most likely on some kind of gear (gerard butler).

i remember seeing an interview with Gerard Butler on how he explained their body building techniques for 300, but what got me curious is what he said he took to lose all the fat around the lean muscles. he said this term-- i cant remember unfortunately, but it made him lose whatever else is keeping him from looking totally ripped.

you think that could be what Bale took also as well as Routh?

 

[DA Harvey Dent]

i remember seeing an interview with Gerard Butler on how he explained their body building techniques for 300, but what got me curious is what he said he took to lose all the fat around the lean muscles. he said this term-- i cant remember unfortunately, but it made him lose whatever else is keeping him from looking totally ripped.

you think that could be what Bale took also as well as Routh?

I read something about his training for 300 too. And what tipped me off to him possibly being on gear is the kind of workouts he was doing and their time lengths (something like 6 hours per day). No one can accomplish that without seriously overtraining unless they were on gear. Although Butler did admit he was overtraining towards the end of his program.

Ultimately, all it takes is to realize that these guys need to be in peak physical shape within a few months and on time for filming. The time constraint plus the salaries involved is enough motivation to take gear. Plus, despite the fact that these guys have all the best trainers, diets, time in the world, the human body can only do so much within a given time frame and no one is immune to overtraining unless you're on gear.

I don't know exactly what Bale and Routh took. But no one loses 30 lbs. of pure fat in 2 months without some kind of diuretic. Even on a carb cycling diet, no one sheds that amount of fat that fast.

 

[Brian Braddock]

no kidding. there was a lot of things wrong with the costume, Routh having to compromise his build just to fit the costume is merely the tip of the iceberg.


i remember seeing an interview with Gerard Butler on how he explained their body building techniques for 300, but what got me curious is what he said he took to lose all the fat around the lean muscles. he said this term-- i cant remember unfortunately, but it made him lose whatever else is keeping him from looking totally ripped.

you think that could be what Bale took also as well as Routh?

I havent read the interview but I'm curious as to wether it was thermogenics that he took?

 

[MechaOrga]

I couldn't fathom gaining that much weight in such a short time (between machinest and batman)

I personally entered college at 160 lbs and graduated at 206 but that was 4 years of constant shakes, meals and heavy weight lifting.

And losing 30 lbs in 2 months is not entirely impossible with a good diet ans lots and lots of cardio. Since my body naturally wants/is comfortable to be in the 190 lb range(what I'm at now, down from the 212 lbs i peaked at) it was easy to drop the "extra" weight which included fat and muscle.

IMHO i believe Butler now has the comic book physique to beat taking the title from Bale (with Routh and reynolds not far behind Bale)

 

[The Last Meatbag]

His weight issues do worry me slightly to be honest. Who knows how much his body can take?

Teh puffy.

Teh Maguire.

...lol

 

[mclay18]

Bale looks like Ethan Hawke in that pic. And vice versa.

I'm just not digging the scruffy look Bale has. It's not that it doesn't look good on him, but he looks much more younger and appealing with a haircut and a shave. Heck, just a haircut on him would make him look younger. And although I know you'd disagree, Bale looks like a caveman rather than Jesus on the front cover. Jesus looks more well-groomed compared to Bale's scruffy mane.