Christian Bale reveals the one reason why fans should never meet him in person

"Never meet your heroes" is definitely a motto The Dark Knight star Christian Bale stands by as he explained the reason why he doesn't want to meet his film heroes and thinks his fans shouldn't want to meet him either.

Bale, who recently set the record straight on whether he is a method actor, will next be seen in Maggie Gyllenhaal's horror The Bride!, loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 classic novel Frankenstein and 1935 movie The Bride of Frankenstein.

The film stars Jessie Buckley as Ida, a murdered young woman who's brought back to life to become the companion of gangster Frank aka Frankenstein's monster, played by Bale.

The film is set in 1930s Chicago and also stars Annette Bening as Dr. Euphronious and Peter Sarsgaard as Detective Jake Wiles, as well as Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz, Julianne Hough, John Magaro, Jeannie Berlin, Linda Emond, and Louis Cancelmi.

Bale stars as trigger-happy gangster Frank opposite Jessie Buckley's Ida in The Bride!, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Speaking at the world premiere of The Bride! in London on 26 February, Bale explained his theory that one should never meet the heroes of the screen if they don't want to be faced with disappointment.

"I'm never cool. No, not in those instances," the star said about meeting other actors (via Entertainment Tonight). "I don't want to meet people that I see in films. I don't want to meet my heroes. "

Speaking about fans meeting him, Bale said: "I see it in people's eyes when they've watched my movies and loved them. And when they meet me. And I see it in their eyes. That terrible disappointment about who I really am."

"What a disappointment! That's me at my best in the movie! Never meet me," he continued.

Christian Bale will next be seen in sports biopic Madden. (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures)

"And I never want to meet my heroes either. Because they're heroic in what they do. But you know, give them a break. Nobody can be a hero all the time," Bale finished.

The actor is also part of the cast of upcoming sports biopic Madden, with Nicolas Cage starring in the role of American football coach and commentator John Madden. Bale is set to star as football coach and executive Al Davis.

Releasing in November, the film's stacked cast also includes Kathryn Hahn, Sienna Miller, John Mulaney, Shane Gillis and Joel Murray.

Bale previously played real-life figures in Adam McKay's satirical biopics The Big Short and Vice, as well as James Mangold's sports biopic Ford v Ferrari, where he portrayed car racing engineer and driver Ken Miles.

The Bride! is released in cinemas on 6 March.