Extreme physical transformations are nothing new for actor Christian Bale. Nobody could possibly forget his haunting wraith-like appearance in The Machinist, for which he reportedly lost close to 30kg, and the subsequent bulking up for a role in Batman Begins. In his latest avatar, Bale appears as Dick Cheney, vice president of the United States during the tumultuous George Bush era, in Vice produced by Annapurna Pictures. For the role, Bale has drastically put on weight—reportedly 40 pounds—to appear as the portly Cheney.
It was a chequered period for seasoned bureaucrat Cheney, as he was dubbed the behind-the-scenes puppet master in issues like the botched Iraq War. Cheney had served under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. In the trailer, Cheney says, “I’m a CEO of a large company, and I have been secretary of defence, and I have been White House chief of staff. The vice presidency is mostly a symbolic job. However, if we came to a different understanding……”
Adam McKay, of The Big Shorts fame, directed the biopic. Sam Rockwell plays the role of George W. Bush, and Steve Carell essays Donald Rumsfeld.
