Christian Bale: "That was the point. That thing. The fear"

Excerpts from a very good interview with Christian Bale

You once described what you did for The Machinist—starving off a third of your body—as "calming." Can you elaborate?

I guess you just sort of have to focus on other…pleasures than food. So you focus on things of the mind. It really is almost mind control. And I found that very calming. Usually, you're getting nervous energy from what you're taking into your body. Since I wasn't putting anything in, I was left in a low-energy state. I didn't even have the energy to sleep much at all, if that doesn't sound too strange. But that absence of energy was replaced with an ability to focus in a very slow and steady way for hours and hours. Physically, I was incredibly relaxed—I really didn't have a choice—but mentally very acute. It was very nice to be in that state while it lasted. My family enjoyed that one as well, after they got over the horror of looking at me.

So……outside of your roles, do you have a history of putting yourself in situations where you have to test yourself physically or even court danger?

Definitely. Though the one that stands out to me wasn't physically demanding or dangerous. One of the places where we lived when I was growing up had this big wood out the back. And starting when I was about 8, I used to enjoy just walking alone through the wood late. Eleven p.m. Midnight. Later. Deep into the woods. It was terrifying. And I wasn't allowed to look behind me, no matter what noises I heard. That was the point. That thing. The fear. To go into some deep place, a well of fear, that you've never been to before and that you didn't know the way out of. Not looking behind, not turning around, just going deeper and deeper into those woods. I always enjoyed that.

GQ: A Nice Quiet Chat with Christian Bale (June 2009)