Vous me complétez...
From Famina Magazine (Switzerland) August 10, interview with Christian in French.
Edit to add: siriala has kindly provided a translation below.
All clickable thumbnails.
And I cleaned up the Christian and glass picture yet again, just because I love the shoot so much (last pic above). It's different from the one I already posted a few weeks ago.
Translation (thanks siriala!)
Christian Bale portrays a Batman with depth. You love the hero as much as the actor.
Batman has found his soul
Three years after donning for the first time the Batman outfit, Christian Bale does it again in "The Dark Knight". A darker episode, more mature and fascinating. Just like the actor.
He arrived that day driving a rather beat-up pick-up. Parked simply in front of the Beverly Wilshire, a Los Angeles palace. The one where Richard Gere stays in Pretty Woman. Then he went discreetly into the lobby. That day, Christian Bale had left in his closet the gorgeous Armani costume and put on cheaper clothes, but on him they looked just as classy. Short hair, three-day beard, the British actor could have almost go unnoticed. Except. One look and you feel like you're pierced, one smile and you understand why director Chris Nolan didn't have any trouble to imagine him playing Batman. The character may have looked for his soul for a long time but he has found it in the intelligent and cultured mind of Christian Bale (difficult to translate, it refers to a quotation of Montaigne, une tête bien faite vaut mieux qu'une tête bien pleine, meaning that it's better to know how to reason and think than to learn just for the sake of the learning. It also implies here that CB has both a "structured" and "full" mind ;)) who, three years after Batman Begins, dons the Batman's outfit for the second time in The Dark Knight.
Femina : What's the challenge in this second Batman movie, as you already knew the character ?
Christian Bale : It's nice to play again a character with a past. Besides, I had on this set a better costume, which was related to the evolution of the film and was a lot more comfortable for me. I was able to breathe more easily, to turn my head. It's a detail, but it changes the way you approach a part ! On a superficial point of view, the BatPod - Batman's new bike - was a big challenge for me. And I have to admit shamefully that I was never able to pilot it. There was only one person to do it : the stuntman who conceived it.
F : Do you think your influence on this movie was bigger than on the previous one ?
CB : I can't really say I exercised any influence. When I met the director, Christopher Nolan, for the first time, I had a very precise idea of the way I wanted to play Batman. He liked my ideas, and I think that's why he hired me. He let me do it my way and allowed me to play the character as I saw him. Our collaboration thus began on very sane bases.
F : So, if someone asks you to do another Batman, you'll agree.
CB : If Chris is on, yes.
F : In the movie, the Joker, played by Heath Leger, says to Batman : "You complete me". How should we understand that ?
CB : He says that because he's finally found an adversary who rises to his level. All the others were so easy to defeat… The mafia, who he's dealing with ? Small bandits, only interested in money, and the Joker thinks this is vulgar. Most of the time, people admire heroes but if they're asked to sacrifice themselves for a great cause, they run away without facing the difficulty. The Joker fights against this hypocrisy and he finds someone who does the same in Batman. This is why he thinks that Batman completes him.
F : Does working with an actor like Heath Ledger help improving your own acting ?
CB : Yes, absolutely. It's very satisfying to play in front of an actor like Heath, who immerses himself in his character and shows how much pleasure he gets by playing. To meet someone who gives everything to his work is motivating. I love to come home worn out after a day at work, and I think Heath is like me.
F : You did many of your stunts yourself. What's the fun in putting yourself in danger ?
CB : I did my own stunts only because I was able to, thanks to my new outfit ! I was a lot more experienced for the fighting scenes as I had worked out long before the beginning of the filming. As for the scene on the building rooftop in Hong Kong, standing on the edge of the void and more than one hundred meters above the ground, I don't think it's a stunt, just an experience I wanted to indulge in (or take advantage of).
F : Is that the way you see movies : experiences you can indulge in ?
CB : I believe that, thanks to movies, many doors open to me that would stay close otherwise. I don't think I could have gone on that roof, for example ! I just finished the filming of Michael Mann's Public Enemies, and we were allowed to visit the FBI headquarters, every department. I don't think I could have done that if I wasn't an actor. That's one of the pleasures of making movies for me.
F : Were you a fan of Batman as a kid ?
CB : Not at all. I never read any comics, I wasn't interested. I remember the TV series, I probably watched and loved it, but it's nothing like Star Wars, for example, that I adored as a kid. It's only when I discovered Frank Miller's comics that I thought there was something very interesting in the character of Batman. Because, this time, the nice guy was more fascinating than the villains.
F : Did you have a hero, back then ?
CB : No, not really. I wasn't that kind of kid. I just loved to hang around with my mates, on my bike, and get into troubles. I didn't look at anybody with awe. Certainly not any actor… The only person who I ever saw as a role model, who intrigued me and always had lots of stories to tell, was my father.
"The Dark Knight"
By Christopher Nolan, with Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, on screen Wednesday, August 13th.
Four stars (out of five)
An Oscar for Heath Ledger ?
Heath Leger, who plays the Joker - although you can't recognize him - wasn't able to enjoy the release of the movie. He passed away from an overdose of medicinal drugs on January 22nd in New York. He is simply incredible in The Dark Knight. So much so that some people already predict that he'll be posthumously nominated for an Oscar for best actor.