Christian Bale Is Back to Transforming for a Role: See His Latest Weight Gain as Dick Cheney

Oscar winner sports fuller figure for upcoming character

By Samantha Schnurr Sep 06, 2017 1:09 PMTags
Christian Bale, Dick CheneyVivien Killilea/Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty Images

When it comes to the art of transformation, Christian Bale is a bonafide pro. 

After all, he won an Oscar and has two more nominations in his repertoire for his shapeshifting performances on the silver screen. Now, with the lead role in a biopic about one of America's modern vice presidents, Dick Cheney, the star is once again taking on his role all the way down to his toes. 

The Backseat actor was recently spotted at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado sporting a fuller figure akin to his real-life counterpart. The look was complete with noticeably lightened eyebrows. Bale is no stranger to adjusting his diet for the sake of his art. Whether it was packing on the pounds to play a 1970s con-artist in American Hustle or shriveling down 60 pounds to play Trevor Reznik in The Machinist, he's been on both sides of the weight fence.  

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Christian Bale: Movie Star!

With a cast of co-stars including Amy Adams as Lynn Cheney and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, it's safe to assume Bale won't be the only one embracing a transformation for this film. 

Check out more stars who have been in Bale's weight-shifting shoes:

Mark Wahlberg

Wahlberg shared a side-by-side photo of his previous toned physique alongside his look, which he achieved by gaining 20 pounds for his film, Stu. "From this 3 weeks ago, to this, now," he wrote, shouting out his chef, Lawrence Duran. "Thanks to @chef_lawrence_d cooking."

Cillian Murphy

 

To play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, the Irish actor "had to lose quite a bit of weight," he shared. "He was very slim, almost emaciated, existed on martinis and cigarettes." His diet? According to costar Emily Blunt, "He had such a monumental undertaking.And he could only eat, like, an almond every day."

 

Joaquin Phoenix

For his Joker role, the Oscar winner opened up about his 52-pound weight loss, telling the Associated Press, "Once you reach the target weight, everything changes. Like so much of what's difficult is waking up every day and being obsessed over like 0.3 pounds. Right? And you really develop like a disorder."

Chris Pratt

The Parks & Recreation alum transformed into a fit superhero for Guardians of the Galaxy and never looked back.

J.K. Simmons

The Spider-Man alum shocked fans when he debuted his bulging biceps, which were displayed in Justice League.

Jake Gyllenhaal

"I'd say my mother was worried," he previously told E! News after losing 30 pounds for Nightcrawler. "I would say she just wanted me to be careful. But she also knew and knows how seriously I take what I do and she respects that."

Miles Teller

The actor bulked up for his roles in Whiplash and the Divergent franchise.

Michael B. Jordan

The Black Panther star gained nearly 30 pounds of muscle to transform into a rookie-turned-professional boxer in Creed.

Jared Leto

The actor and musician nabbed an Oscar for his riveting role in The Dallas Buyers Club. He lost 40 pounds for the role.

Chris Messina

The Mindy Project alum had to gain 40 pounds for his role in Live by Night.

Renée Zellweger

The Bridget Jones's Diary actress gained weight to portray the lovable character in the franchise's first and second films.

Chad Michael Murray

The actor lost 25 pounds for his role as a heroin addict in Other People's Children.

Matthew McConaughey

The Magic Mike hunk dropped 30 pounds to star in The Dallas Buyer's Club—which centered on the real-life story about a man dying from AIDS in the 1980s who treated himself with alternative remedies he smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

Taylor Lautner

The teen heartthrob went from cute kid to beefy babe as werewolf Jacob Black in the Twilight sequel. "The day I finished Twilight, I came home and started bulking up," he told Interview magazine. "For New Moon, I'm 30 pounds heavier than I was in Twilight."

Rooney Mara

The actress looked lean and strong for her starring role in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Anne Hathaway

The Les Misérables star took home an Oscar for her role in the musical.

Christian Bale

He's no stranger to morphing for movie roles. In 2004, he lost more than 60 pounds for his role in The Machinist, and he did it again for the film The Fighter, opposite Mark Wahlberg. He also gained 40 pounds for American Hustle—and lost 70 pounds for Ford v Ferrari.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Again

The actor looked more like a god than a prince for his role in 2010's Prince of Persia. Gyllenhaal said he studied Parkour, the French art of street running, in order to bulk up for the film.

Tom Hanks

"All it is is time and discipline," the Oscar winner told Time magazine of his role in 2000's Cast Away, for which he lost over 50 pounds to play a man stranded on an uninhabited island.

50 Cent

The ripped rapper shocked fans with a photo of himself looking slender. He reportedly went from 214 to 160 pounds in just nine weeks to play a football player diagnosed with cancer in Things Fall Apart.

Robert De Niro

Shaping up for movie roles is nothing new. The legendary actor earned an Oscar nom for his role as terrifying tattooed rapist Max Cady in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear.

Christian Bale (Again)

In order to portray former Vice President Dick Cheney in the 2018 biopic Vice, the star sported a fuller figure

Which star did you have a hard time recognizing? Share with us in the comments below!