Christian Bale Recounts Meeting Donald Trump During 'The Dark Knight Rises'

For his role as Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy of films, actor Christian Bale had to convey the attitude of a wealthy, playboy businessman, similar to the person currently sitting in the White House. Interestingly, Bale even crossed paths with Donald Trump in the midst of filming The Dark Knight Rises, resulting in a photograph that would go on to become a hilarious meme.

"There's quite a funny photograph that's online. It was whilst we were filming, I believe it was The Dark Knight Rises, we used Trump Tower and we changed the lettering on the outside, it said 'Wayne Tower,'" Bale recalled to the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "Mr. Trump arrived and, I'll never forget the way he said it. He said to me, 'You probably want a photograph with me so let's get that done.' And I turned and there was a photographer ready and I was decked out in full Bruce Wayne, you know, slicked back hair, red tie, a little bit of a Don [Trump] Jr. look, and we took the picture. And someone showed me it recently and it said, 'American Psycho with Christian Bale.'"

The American Psycho comment comes from the film of the same name, in which Bale starred as Patrick Bateman, the investment banker who indulges in drugs, women and serial killing. Bale even went on to claim that the egotistical character most likely would have modeled his life after Trump, given his prominence as a businessman in the '80s.

"Well, Trump's his hero," Bale admitted. "I don't know if I made that up or if it's in the book, I think it's probably in the book. But I could very much see him reading [Trump's] The Art of the Deal."

This isn't the only connection between the Trump and The Dark Knight Rises, as the encounter clearly left an impression on the former host of The Apprentice, who incorporated a line from the film's villain in his inauguration speech.

After Bane (Tom Hardy) frees prisoners in Gotham City, he stood atop a car to announce, "And we give it back to you, the people." During Trump's inauguration, he made a similar remark, claiming, "We're giving it back to you, the people."

Christian Bale can currently be seen in Hostiles, out now.

[H/T Happy Sad Confused]