Christian Bale avoided funnyman Chris Rock on ‘Amsterdam’ set
CHRISTIAN Bale avoided Chris Rock on the set of ‘Amsterdam’ because he was too “bloody funny”.
The 48-year-old actor is known for his method acting on set, but he struggled to get into character while make David O. Russell’s new movie because his co-star kept making him laugh.
He told IndieWire: “I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I’m a big fan of his standup. Then he arrives, and he’s doing some things…
“David [O. Russell] told him to tell me some stories that I didn’t know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it.
“But Chris is so bloody funny and I found that I couldn’t act, because I was just becoming Christian laughing at Chris Rock.
“So I had to go to him, I went, ‘Mate, I love talking to you, and we have mutual friends, but I can’t do it anymore. Because David didn’t ask me to make this film so he could just watch me giggle. He wants me to be Burt and I’m forgetting how to be Burt.’ ”
Bale admitted the idea of distancing himself from co-stars is a method he adopts as part of his process when he’s working on a project, because he helps him stay in character.
He explained: “I often meet these incredible people, but I isolate myself. Because if I get to know people too much, I find I just don’t believe what I’m doing in the scene.”
It’s a contrast to the way Margot Robbie and John David Washington worked on the film, as the cast mates forged a close bond as it was the first time they’d worked under ‘American Hustle’ filmmaker Russell.
Margot recently said: “We immediately kind of clung to each other, like, ‘OK, are you scared? Because I’m scared. Ah! What do we do?.”