Christian Bale’s Massive Weight Loss for ‘The Fighter’ Role

Christian Bale lost one third of his entire bodyweight for the part that, some say, made him a star in Hollywood, that of a troubled worker in “The Machinist.” Shortly after wrapping production on this one, he had to regain the weight (plus some more) to play the caped crusader Batman. After his latest part, a take on John Connor in “Terminator: Salvation,” Bale is back to work and looking thinner and scarier than ever, as ScreenRave can confirm.

While it’s not yet known how the Welsh actor managed – again – to lose so much weight over such a short period of time, since it’s like yesterday that he was promoting “Salvation” and he was looking his old, buffed self, speculation is running rampant that it can’t but have taken a toll on his health. The recently surfaced photos show Bale as Dicky Eklund, the famous boxer turned cocaine addict, on the set of the film on Eklund’s life, “The Fighter.”

As fans must know, Christian Bale has an extraordinary reputation for being one of the most conscientious method actors of the moment, so it’s not uncommon for him to look differently from one part to another. Nevertheless, rumor has it that preparing to play Eklund might have taken a toll on his health, since the recently surfaced photos don’t seem to indicate that the actor is in such a good health – or in a good mood for that matter. Gaunt and with hollow cheeks, the actor can be seen in the photos munching on an apple on set, which has prompted speculation of whether he’s gone back on the “Machinist” diet consisting of nothing but coffee, cigarettes and an apple a day.

Speaking of diets, just the other day, we were telling you about Bale’s routine to get in shape for the part of Batman. As also noted above, not only did he have to put all the weight he had lost back on, but he also had to gain more, mostly in muscle mass. In order to do this, the actor embarked on a grueling routine of working out and completely overhauled his diet so that he never lacked the energy to work out. In just a couple of months, Christian Bale was almost unrecognizable.

“The Fighter” is scheduled for a tentative release for 2011. Other than the fact that it also stars Mark Wahlberg as Eklund’s brother, and is being directed by David O. Russell (“I Heart Huckabees,” “Three Kings”), not much is known about the production. However, keep an eye on this space for more details.