Christian Bale = Calculon?
Am I the only one baffled by his continued employment as a lead actor? I've seen him in a variety of roles - Batman stuff, American Psycho, The Machinist - and he always seems to be playing Christian Bale, occasionally throwing in what he seems to think are appropriate tics. All I get from his on-screen persona is 'I am acting' - don't know how to show a pompus, self-regarding tone in text, but read it that way. Maybe -
I. [beat] Am acting'.
Anyone else not get it? Or maybe someone who likes him could explain why?
I'd say he is justly warrants leading man status. He has a fantastic ability to shift accents (he's a Brit, but he does regional American accents) and as for physical transformations, I have always found them startling (E.g: The Machinist --> Batman --> The Fighter). Any tics I have generally found to be specific to the role, a counterpoint being other "character actors" who are constantly reproducing the same tics, such as Paul Giamatti. Talking of tics, I've always had a pet peeve with Robert De Niro, who always seems to laboriously scratch his cheek in the same way. One criticism I would bring against Christian Bale, is his gormless intensity, in what should be a more emotionally charged scene.
If you haven't already seen them, I would urge you to watch "The Fighter" and "The Prestige" to witness more of his abilities.
So on balance, I'd say there many more leading men who are less convincing and he demonstrates why Hollywood is so willing to employ Brits to play American roles.
If you haven't already seen them, I would urge you to watch "The Fighter" and "The Prestige" to witness more of his abilities.
So on balance, I'd say there many more leading men who are less convincing and he demonstrates why Hollywood is so willing to employ Brits to play American roles.
Don't forget that American Johnny Depp is frequently employed to do British roles, so don't be so hasty to suggest that American leading men can't do their jobs properly.

Re Giamatti and De Niro - quite agree.
I will gladly give kudos to Bale for his physical commitment to a role. His accents always seem wonky to me.
I've seen The Prestige - a very enjoyable film. But every time he appears, I'm thrown out of the story by observing, 'oh look, it's Christian Bale, acting'. Apropos Johnny Depp - he always seems to play Johnny Depp. Robert Downey Jr always seems to play Robert Downey Jr, but for some reason I don't mind them. I can't really put my finger on it, and it's obviously a taste thing anyway.
Hes a great actor, problem is he gets asked to do a lot of roles playing the same type of guy.
terminator, batman(all three), public enemies, and a few other movies got him playing the hero.
However in American pysco, harshtimes, the fighter, machinist, 310 to yuma he plays some very different roles.
If you haven't already seen them, I would urge you to watch "The Fighter" and "The Prestige" to witness more of his abilities.
So on balance, I'd say there many more leading men who are less convincing and he demonstrates why Hollywood is so willing to employ Brits to play American roles.
Don't forget that American Johnny Depp is frequently employed to do British roles, so don't be so hasty to suggest that American leading men can't do their jobs properly.

That's true but I can't say I have been overly impressed with Johnny Depp, he is definitely an entertaining actor but Brad Pitt has done a wider range of more versatile roles as such as Seven years in Tibet, Snatch, Interview with the Vampire, Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club and other roles which have involved him taking on different characters and accents.
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