Christian Bale ‘ecstatic’ not to be acting at the moment

By Alex Green, PA Acting Deputy Entertainment Editor

Christian Bale has said he feels “ecstatic” about the the idea of not working in Hollywood and is always “bent” on the end of his projects.

The Oscar-winning actor, 48, shot three different films in 2021, including David O Russell’s Amsterdam, but has not been on a set in months.

Asked whether he was content not working, he told British GQ: “More than content: f****** ecstatic, I’ve always been bent on ‘When’s this gonna end? This has to end’.

“I like doing things that have nothing to do with film. And I find myself very happily not playing dress-up, not pretending to be somebody else for long lengths of time.”

The Welsh-born English star, whose credits include American Psycho, The Machinist and the Batman trilogy, also recently appeared in the Marvel film Thor: Love And Thunder as the villain Gorr the God Butcher.

He said acting against a green screen to allow the addition of visual effects was not to his liking.

He said: “I mean, the definition of it is monotony. You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me.

“Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do.

“I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next.

“They kept saying, ‘You’re on Stage Three.’ Well, it’s like, ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.’ ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ I was like, ‘Uh, where?’”

Bale also revealed he kept his distance from his Amsterdam co-star Chris Rock on set despite being a fan.

He said: “I’m literally like: ‘I can’t do this because I will be the worst actor you’ve ever seen if we keep on chatting, you know, with Amsterdam, I had to say that to Chris Rock.

“I had to go there and say that to him. I f****** love his stand-up.

“And when he arrived I was like, ‘Ah, wow, great. Yeah, how you doing, man?’ Chatting a little bit.

“And then I went to do a scene, and I went, ‘Oh, my God.

“I’m just Christian, standing here, being a fan of Chris Rock.’

“So I went to him. I went, ‘Mate, I got to keep my distance.’ Have you tried swimming and laughing at the same time? I don’t know about you. I’d drown.

“I cannot laugh and swim at the same time. It’s that. So I had to, much as I would’ve loved to have kept on chatting and talking.”

The November issue of British GQ is available via digital download and on newsstands on October 25th.