Christian Bale’s one of those actors who (quite notoriously) cannot resist a good physical transformation. To his credit, he also brings the inward transformation as well, so the change-ups don’t seem like they’re done for the sake of simply looking different. Still, one can’t imagine that it’s healthy to live on only coffee, tuna, and apples ahead of The Machinist and the a bunch of donuts and cheeseburgers to prep for American Hustle. Those strenuous regimens still didn’t prepare him for how difficult one aspect of his Marvel transformation (into Gorr the God Butcher) would be for Thor: Love And Thunder.
Granted, Gorr has to compete with Thor’s butt for attention, but if you look at the above photo of Gorr the God Butcher, this doesn’t seem too rough in comparison with what Bale’s previously done. He’s wearing contacts and a full body of makeup, yes, but nothing that would really affect his quality of life outside the studio, right? Wrong. As Bale explained to Deadline, those nails extensions were killer:
“It rendered me completely incapable of everything. I was pathetic,” he said. “I found myself thinking things like, ‘I don’t think I can walk because I’ve got long nails.’ It affected my brain. I was like, ‘I can’t eat, I’ve got long nails.’ I was trying to type. I couldn’t do anything.”
Yeah, try to open a soda can with those nails! (Pro Tip: Use a spoon.)
Bale also glossed over comparisons between his character’s look and Marilyn Manson while declaring, “I hadn’t heard that. I was certainly influenced by the look of Nosferatu.” He further added that Aphex Twin’s “Come to Daddy” video contains “a character in that that Taika and I both enjoyed and he was my reference, even though perhaps the children would have run to the exits screaming had we fully embraced that.” Between that and the Thor butt, the MCU’s really getting wild these days.
(Via Deadline)