Christian Bale's Oscar Journey: 3 Nominations and 1 Win of Hollywood's Best Actor
One Oscar win is already impressive, but Bale definitely deserves more.
Christian Bale has worked with Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, David O. Russell, Ridley Scott and other famous directors. In addition, over the years of his career, the actor has received four Oscar nominations and one win.
Here are the films of one of the most outstanding actors of our time that have been noticed by the Academy.
1. The Fighter (2011) – Best Supporting Actor – Win
The highlight of Christian Bale's acting career was the sports drama The Fighter, for which he won his only Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
In the biopic about boxer Micky Ward, Christian got the role of Dicky Eklund, the older brother of the main character, who once was a promising sportsman but became addicted to drugs. For the sake of this role, Bale (once again) subjected himself to trials and went on a strict diet.
2. American Hustle (2014) – Best Actor
The plot is based on a real-life sting operation conducted by the FBI in the late 70s and early 80s. Its original purpose was to investigate the trafficking of stolen goods. The FBI wanted to infiltrate its agents into the criminal world as middlemen buying stolen masterpieces for wealthy collectors. As a result, the operation turned into an exposé of corruption at various levels.
For the role in David O. Russell's comedy-drama, the actor gained a lot of weight, transforming from a muscular Batman into an obese con man Irving Rosenfeld.
To achieve the result, Bale said he ate a lot of donuts, cheeseburgers and generally anything he could get his hands on. This time, the actor's feat did not go unnoticed: the film received ten Oscar nominations, including one for Christian.
3. The Big Short (2016) – Best Supporting Actor
The Big Short has an impressive cast, including Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt and Marisa Tomei.
The action takes place in 2008, and the economic crisis is about to hit. Just before the real estate market crashes, several people begin to sense an impending change and realize that they can make some good money out of it.
In Adam McKay's movie, Christian Bale plays Michael Burry, a hedge fund manager who saw the economic tipping point before anyone else. Christian wore the clothes of the real Burry, who made a cameo appearance in the movie.
4. Vice (2019) – Best Actor
Dick Cheney's road to politics was a thorny one. Drunk driving, expulsion from Yale University, working as an electrician – the future statesman had to go through it all before he got to the White House.
When Dick had almost given up on his career, George W. Bush approached him and offered him the position of Vice President.
Vice is Christian Bale's second collaboration with Adam McKay and another movie in which the actor completely changes his appearance. For the role of the former vice president, the actor gained a lot of weight, but it was not enough for the desired effect. Christian shaved his head, changed the color of his eyebrows and studied Dick Cheney's speech.