Christian Bale Says He Was The ‘Worst Birthday Party Performer Ever’ In Scenes With Kids On The Thor: Love And Thunder Set
Christian Bale talks freaking kids out on the Thor: Love and Thunder set.
In case you haven’t noticed from the Marvel blockbuster’s trailers, Christian Bale has a sincerely creepy look playing Gorr The God Butcher in Thor: Love And Thunder. Between the pale skin, scarring, and sallow eyes, he’s a figure that looks straight out of a nightmare – which is why it probably shouldn’t be all that surprising to learn that that actor had an interesting relationship with the child actors with whom he shares scenes in the new movie.
I won’t give away too many plot details with the film still days away from release, but there are sequences in Thor: Love And Thunder where Christian Bale’s Gorr is performing opposite a group of children. It was a specific experience I asked the actor about during the Los Angeles press day for the movie last month when I interviewed the film’s stars, and Bale explained that he had a good time shooting and improvising a lot of material with the intention of freaking out the kids (not for real, of course):
Writer/director Taika Waititi is known for allowing a great deal of improvisation on his sets and not being married to what is on the page, and this is evidently a perfect example. Christian Bale further revealed that the collaboration went to some pretty extreme places that were fun to do, but ultimately didn’t fit into a PG-13 blockbuster. Bale continued,
As for working with his young co-stars, Christian Bale told me that it took a minute for everyone to adjust to his look – as the villainous makeup effectively made them wary of him. Bale told me that one kid who had a particularly funny reaction to his took was Taika Waititi’s daughter:
Much like how the kids in IT had to adjust to working with Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, Christian Bale found that over time the child actors not only became less afraid of him, but eventually became enchanted by the makeup job and the character’s signature weapon. Said Bale,
The fun that the actors clearly had on set translates to a great deal of blockbuster fun in the finished product – and Marvel fans will be able to find that out for themselves very soon. Thor: Love And Thunder, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Russell Crowe in addition to Christian Bale, arrives in theaters this Friday, July 8 (tickets are on sale now).
To learn more about everything that is one the way from the Marvel Cinematic Universe – in 2022 and beyond – be sure to check out both our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides.
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Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.