Interviewee: Christian Bale
Interviewer: Matt Lauer
Date: July 14, 2008

Lauer, in the early part of the interview, read to Christian Bale some good reviews on the actor’s recent movie, The Dark Knight. The interviewer asked Christian Bale if he felt the pressure on being able to hit the Box Office, and Bale replied it was about being able to produce a quality film that the audience would want to dig in. During the interview, Bale also explained about his role has, stating that Batman has diverse personalities; each brought about by the different aspects of his life including his childhood.

Additionally, Bale described the character of Joker, as portrayed by the late Heath Ledger, stating that the character was different from other villains since The Joker exists purely to create chaos.

Lauer asked Christian Bale on whether the character might have created an impact leading to the death of Ledger. (Heath Ledger died from an accidental prescription drug overdose in January 2008, at the age of 28.) Bale blatantly denied the contention and said that Ledger threw himself completely into the role and the late actor had a wonderful time doing it.

During the course of the interview, Bale also referred to his standing on top of the Sears Tower as an experience rather than a stunt, and also described how the infamous Batmobile worked dismally on the set.

Finally, Bale described the movie as a film full of underlying meaning that would raise a lot of ethical questions and leave the audience thinking.

Born Christian Charles Philip Bale, on January 30, 1974 in Wales, United Kingdom, Bale grew up in California, England, and Portugal. Bale started acting at an early age when he played a part in a London play, The Nerd.

In 1986, he appeared in the TV-movie, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. A year later, he appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, where he got a special award for Best Juvenile Performance. He appeared in several films including Newsies, Swing Kids, Henry V, Treasure Island, Little Women, Pocahontas (voice-over), Shaft, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Harsh Times, Rescue Dawn, Reign of Fire, The New World, The Prestige, Batman Begins, and 3:10 to Yuma.

Known for portraying unique characters, Bale played a disturbed egomaniac in American Psycho. In The Machinist, he lost 63 pounds to justify his neurosis in the movie. He will soon be appearing in several more movies including Public Enemies, Terminator Salvation, and Killing Pablo.

In 2007, Empire Magazine ranked Bale 13th in 100 Sexiest Stars in the movie industry. Bale is married to Sibi Blazic and they have one child.

The Dark Knight did not disappoint Bale as the movie sold an estimated $155.3 million worth of tickets within the first three days of release across the United States and Canada, surpassing the first weekend-sales for Spider-Man 3 in 2007.