Christian Bale: Parade Magazine

Christian Bale speaks to Parade Magazine about his new film The Dark Knight, the influence Michael Caine has on him and how Heath Ledger’s death has affected him.

Michael Caine is back as Alfred. How would you describe his influence on you?
Michael is grace under fire. When I think about him, I think about surfing, which is all effort for me, I get out and battle the waves and I'm exhausting myself. Then you see people who are riding multiple waves in the time it's taken me to fight out there and feel like I'm drowning. Michael's like that. He makes it look effortless.

Your co-star Heath Ledger, who plays The Joker, died tragically after the film wrapped. Do you mind talking about him?
No, listen, I want to talk about Heath. When you miss somebody, you want to speak about him. He was a unique character, a very infectious character. He was a good man, and I was glad to have spent time with him. He was somebody who I’d been seeing on a daily basis for months. It takes a long time to accept that someone’s gone, when all body and mind are telling you that this is somebody you will know for a great deal of time. He was something of a kindred spirit to myself.

It must be difficult.
Much of it has to do with my respect for his daughter, whom he loved so dearly and whom he would talk about so often. For me, that is of incredible importance. I hope in a small way that The Dark Knight can be a celebration of his work. Not like the hideous circus after he died, which I felt was an invasion of a private life. This movie is not a personal home video. This is what he did. I hope people will embrace that in the correct fashion.

We can’t wait to see The Dark Knight and have a strong suspicion Heath will be nominated for (and might very well win) a best supporting actor Oscar for the role. We wonder who would accept the award on his behalf. His father? Bale? Michelle Williams? The best would be Daniel Day Lewis who was so busted up over Heath’s sudden passing. He could accept AS Ledger since he’s so amazing at immersing himself in a character.

Excerpts from the article can be read here and click here to enjoy a slideshow of Bale’s beauty.