SZilla
Badass
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Post by SZilla on Aug 26, 2021 14:03:35 GMT
The Machinist
He's one of my all time favorites, although I do wish he'd become frequent collaborators with more exciting directors rather than the likes of Adam McKay and David O. Russell. How 'bout working with Herzog or Campion again, Bale??
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Post by jakesully on Aug 26, 2021 14:36:23 GMT
So many great performances to choose from but American Psycho is my top choice. He literally WAS Patrick Bateman imo. He owned that role and brought it to life. I know the studio wanted Leonardo Dicaprio to portray Patrick Bateman at the time (even offering a 20+ million salary to him). Kudos to the director Mary Harron sticking to her guns for campaigning for Bale in the lead role. Don't get me wrong, Dicaprio is probably my favorite actor working these days but he would have been so wrong as Patrick Bateman. Even though Leo and Bale are the same age. Leo at the time looked like a scrawny teenage twink and just way too boyish (the audience wouldn't have bought it especially fans of the book). Bale on the other hand was absolutely RIPPED and looked the part. Bale's insane dedication to his roles should be highly regarded and admired/respected.
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Post by jakesully on Aug 26, 2021 14:52:09 GMT
I'm not sure about greatest - The Fighter maybe...... American Psycho....... but my favorite and the one I voted for was The Machinist and specifically it shows where his critics (and on this board there are a bunch) are wrong or they were wrong here anyway. Usually people who criticize him it's for being a "stunt actor" ie shape-shifting his body in lieu of characterization acting.......but The Machinist is specifically NOT that in any way at all. He's a human ghost and his shocking weight loss ties into the script......he's nothing, he's disappearing before our eyes. The weight loss is not "the performance" it's merely where the performance starts. Maybe this boards most underrated major actor imo - how the fnck did we do a poll on "Best Actor of the 2010s" and he was THAT low ?!?!? - .....people carved out a position on him early I think and often refuse to say they maybe misjudged him or what he's capable of ..... Ford Vs. Ferrari was another one where he gave a genuine movie star performance - sexy, charismatic, funny, which you maybe wouldn't think he had in him at all. That is a great write up regarding The Machinist and you explained it a lot better than I could. And I still can't believe Bale's physical transformation from The Machinist to Batman Begins (which took place in only a matter of a year!) Utterly crazy. Bale is of course widely respected by the Academy and his peers and movie goers. But yeah he does seem to be quite underrated on this forum though.
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