Christian Bale says he's not a method actor and doesn't know why people think he is

Christian Bale doesn't understand why people call him a method actor.

The Academy Award-winning actor has long been associated with the controversial acting technique, possibly because of his ability to alter his body for certain roles.

But despite the impressive transformations fans have seen him undergo for films like American Psycho, The Machinist, and American Hustle, Bale himself doesn't identify as a method actor.

When a new film starring Bale hits the big screen, the question is always the same: "What bizarre method acting technique did he do to get into character this time?"

But the thing is, while Bale has definitely done some really weird stuff for his roles in the past, he has never seen himself as a method actor.

"You know, people call me that. And I don't even really know what it is", the actor told UNILAD. "I just kind of wing it."

He continued: "Method actors study method acting. I've never studied any acting at all. I just don't want to offend true method actors. I just do whatever I do. I don't know what it is."

Film stars like Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Gary Oldman have received critical acclaim for their outstanding performances achieved through method acting.

But, over the years, the practice has gotten a pretty bad name for itself, with some actors taking to a point where they caused distress to cast and crew - and even endangered themselves.

Netflix

Certain incidents - whether it was Jared Leto posting a dead pig and used condoms to his Suicide Squad cast mates, or Jim Carrey causing utter chaos on-set for Man On The Moon by purposely making crew feel as uncomfortable as possible - mean that method acting isn't the esteemed technique it once was.

When it came to Bale's latest project, The Pale Blue Eye, the actor kept his prep for the role of detective Augustus Landor pretty simple.

"There was lots of pouring over the book, you know, and getting ideas from that."

But the actor can assure you there wasn't anything crazy this time around.

"But then again, what we do is sort of crazy."

In fact, for the gory new Netflix thriller, it was Bale's co-star Harry Melling who went for the weirder techniques to channel his character.

Netflix

In the film, Melling plays famed poet Edgar Allan Poe, who become detective Augustus Landor's right-hand man in solving a series of grisly murders.

To get into the mind of the gothic 19th-century poet, Harry hung out in High Gate cemetery to get a better feel for his death-obsessed character - a 'suitably weird' practice, if he says so himself.

So, Bale isn't a method actor - and in case you were wondering, he's pretty much done with the insane physical transformations now, too.

Back in 2019, he revealed that he's more concerned about his health these days, and that newfound care might have made him 'a little bit more boring now'.

He said: "Because I'm older and I feel like if I keep doing what I've done in the past I'm going to die. So, I'd prefer not to die."

The Pale Blue Eye arrives on Netflix on Friday, 6 January 2022.