Christian Bale had had one of the most prolific careers that any actor has ever had since playing Batman. The actor has appeared in numerous awards films and has even returned to the superhero movie genre. But, one of his most critically acclaimed films has to be The Dark Knight due to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker. Ledger won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film, and it has been 14 years since it hit theaters. Ledger’s performance was so epic that it apparently made Bale feel like his performance was “dull” in comparison. The actor recently sat down with GQ where he looked back on his most iconic role and even revealed a pretty hilarious go-kart experience with Ledger.
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“Heath Ledger, who, oh my god, what a pleasure to have gotten to work with him and to just see him, you know, and how much he put into the Joker,” Bale revealed. “And I was watching it going, yeah, this is absolutely fantastic. Are we in trouble here? When Chris and I first sat down, we said not the problem. What Batman is, is that the villains are always more interesting, right? And so Batman actually, he’s very close to being a villain himself. So, let’s never let him become dull by comparison. And unfortunately now sitting there, go, I’m feeling a bit dull. But in comparison ’cause Heath is just like killing this and, but I’m so proud of that film. I love it. The Dark Knight is absolutely extraordinary. You know, and it was such a pleasure to have gotten to work with Heath.”
“He, he was a wonderful go-kart driver. Yeah, we went and raced the go-karts and holy crap, he beat all the stun guys and everything. He was quick. When we went to the track we thought of course the stunt guys are gonna win and suddenly Heath wins, gets top place, and then quietly mentions, ‘you know, my dad was a go-kart racer.’ Very talented individual and a great soul to be around. Yeah, I miss him greatly.” Bale added of Ledger’s go-kart prowess.
Bale recently appeared in another comic book movie for Marvel Studios with Thor: Love and Thunder. The film introduced us to the villainous Gorr the God Butcher, and reintroduced us to Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/Mighty Thor. Hemsworth has previously described what it was like working with Bale on set, calling it “really scary”, and now the actor has detailed the villains complex backstory in a recent interview with D23 Magazine.
“[Gorr is] not a straightforward villain… there’s a real complexity to him. It’s not black and white, what he’s doing. He has a truthful motivation, which I think makes for the most interesting kind of villain,” Hemsworth said. “You might not agree with how he’s going about it, but you understand why he’s been tipped over the edge and why he’s gone down this path. It’s a really challenging one for Thor, because the set of questions Gorr’s posing does hold some truth—but he can’t let Gorr destroy the universe in the process. That, I think, makes this a greater dynamic and not as predictable as the straightforward good gut vs. bad guy scenario we’ve seen before.”
Marvel Studios describes Thor: Love and Thunder as follows: “The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.”
The film is being directed by Waititi and will star Chris Hemsworth as the titular character, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/Mighty Thor, Russell Crowe as Zeus, Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Karen Gillan as Nebula and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. In addition to directing, Waititi will also be reprising his role as Korg. Thor: Love and Thunder is exclusively streaming on Disney+ now!
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