Christian Bale Went Method to Stop Going “Insane” As Frankenstein’s Monster

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s sophomore directorial effort, The Bride!, is already set to be an interesting release in March thanks to the stacked cast and mega budget. Featuring the talents of Jessie Buckley (as the titular character), Christian Bale, and Jake Gyllenhaal, the filmmaker’s reimagining of the iconic horror monster looks to be an inspired, dark, and fun take on the characters with a new backdrop of 1930s Chicago. Buckley and Bale play the couple at the center of the movie, with new costumes and prosthetics being created to help bring the undead characters back to life. For Bale, the makeup process was also an outlet for the actor as he leaned more into the method acting that he had become known for.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bale talked about how the six-hour-long makeup process that transformed him into the character of “Frank” were eventually used as his way to vent. Specifically, the actor would begin screaming and yelling to help release the intense feelings brought on by bringing such a dark character to life. Bale hilariously described how, eventually, many other members of the cast and crew would join in on Bale’s yelling, making it a tradition on set:

“I would scream like crazy, every day. Just to [release the] despair, all of that restraint that you have to display when you’re sitting still for that long. I didn’t want to do it driving into work because I thought I might cause a crash. And I didn’t want to do it by myself because I thought everyone would just think I’m going nuts. Oh man, I’m telling you, the whole crew got involved by the end because people would hear us screaming. We would open the doors, and gradually, a bit like the Bride’s revolution, a few people were going, ‘Can we do it too?’ And then by the end, there were like 30 people who would hear us and run to the makeup trailer to be a part of it and scream as well.”

‘The Bride!’ Is Christian Bale’s Return to Method Acting, With a Different Kind of Physical Transformation

Christian Bale is no stranger to unorthodox methods of getting into character. Many of his most famous roles, such as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, would require an immense physical transformation. While Batman resulted in a traditional physically imposing appearance, other roles, such as The Machinist, would be a stark opposite, as Bale made himself incredibly thin and would help contribute to his haunting performance in the movie.

The last most prominent transformation Bale ever made was in the film Vice, in which he gained weight to portray the former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney. The actor later said that he was careful not to transform his body that much for future roles due to health concerns, but it’s exciting to see that he is still finding other methods to be able to transform into the Frank in The Bride. With Buckley coming off of an Oscar-nominated performance in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, The Bride is being set up as one of the buzz-worthy releases of March 2026.