Tonight on TV: Christian Bale Loses 20 Kilos for This Movie No One Has Seen!

We know that Christian Bale is an actor who can undergo the most radical physical transformations for a role. With Rescue Dawn, a film released straight to DVD here in 2008, in almost total anonymity, the Brit doesn’t deviate from his impressive habit.

Directed by Werner Herzog, the feature film Rescue Dawn immerses viewers in 1965, the dawn of the Vietnam War. During a secret mission, US Army pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) is shot down over Laos. The enemy in the middle of the jungle subjected him to the worst torture and humiliation. Determined to fight for survival, Dieter organizes an escape…

Rescue Dawn, which was shot entirely in Thailand, is inspired by the true story of Dieter Dengler, a German-born aviator who was taken prisoner during the Vietnam War. Evidence that Werner Herzog was fascinated by this story? In 1997, a German director already dedicated a documentary film called Little Dieter Must Fly to him.

Christian Bale once again physically transformed himself for the role of Dieter Dengler in Dawn of the Rescue. Here, he had to lose twenty kilos… a workout the Welsh actor is used to, as he already lost 28 kilos during the filming of The Mechanic… before regaining them for the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman Begins.

In 2008, AlloCiné asked Christian Bale why he agreed to shoot with Rescue Dawn in difficult conditions, humidity and heat. “It’s because I like to visit hell”– he answered with a laugh. “I knew Werner would be the right person to take us there. I really liked the idea of ​​doing something like this. I like to test myself and see how far I can go.”

Tonight at Arte at 20:55.

Top 5 Characters Who Eat Live Animals (Like Dieter Dengler in “Rescue Dawn”):