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Christian Bale dons the Batman cape again to star in The Dark Knight. The Welsh-born actor talks about how this film is the darkest ever and reveals what it was like working with the late Heath Ledger.
Gone are the days when Batman was a just a camp comic character in tights. Now, the superhero is brooding, shadowy and even political – and hes about to get darker than ever.
We got our first taste of this new complex Batman when British actor Christian Bale gave his intense interpretation of the caped crusader in 2005 movie Batman Begins.
In The Dark Knight, the second in director Christopher Nolans take on the franchise, Bruce Wayne is a millionaire with a mission - to save corrupt and dangerous Gotham City from criminals like the anarchistic Joker (the late Heath Ledger). At the same time, he is forced to question the personal motives behind his crime-fighting operations.
Its nice to be coming in and playing a character where you know the whole back story, says a moody-looking Christian Bale, who is sitting hunched forward, arms folded in front of him.
We are trying to show a very real Gotham and real humanity to a superhero.
Heath Ledgers version of The Joker is also a world away from the one-dimensional villain often seen in superhero films.
This movie was the last that Heath completed before his death in January this year, but the Australian actors performance as the anarchistic psychopath is already being talked about as one of the years most outstanding.
Somebody like Heath loves to immerse himself completely in the role, and you can see the pleasure hes getting from that, says 34-year-old Christian.
And I feel likewise - thats the pleasure I get from acting.
The way that Heath plays The Joker - its not like were watching Heath Ledger enjoying playing this zany crazy character. He disappears and he becomes this anarchic, destructive, chaotic individual.
And its Batman who provides The Joker with his toughest challenge yet in the movie.
Everyones been a pushover for The Joker, says Christian.
Everybody can be leveraged so damn easily. The mob - they want money, thats boring. Also, The Joker despises hypocrisy and hes finally finding in Batman somebody who doesnt have that. Hes as uncompromising as The Joker. The Joker is the unstoppable force and Batmans the immoveable object.
Born and raised in Britain, Christian, who began his career in Empire Of The Sun, is now based in Los Angeles, and after filming Batman and other American films like 3:10 To Yuma, he sports a mid-Atlantic accent.
Christian clearly relishes his work, and the opportunities it affords him, such as the chance to film a Batman scene while standing on top of Chicagos Sears Tower.
I like working - I dont mind long hours and strenuous work, he says. The main challenge for me is primarily the sitting around, the waiting periods, thats what I dont like.
Theres a great many doors that are opened through doing movies. Sears Tower would not let me just walk up, knock on the door and say, Do you mind if I go stand there, on the edge of your building 110 stories up? That would be cool. And do you mind if I bring a chopper to get some good shots of me? That aint going to happen.
I just finished doing the film Public Enemies with Michael Mann. We toured the FBI headquarters and got shown around every single department - really insider stuff. That never would have happened had I not been involved in movies.
Although he confesses to being a big Star Wars fan as a child, Christian wasnt interested in superheroes at a young age, and says he only really had one personal hero while growing up - his dad David, who died four years ago.
I was never very much somebody who was much into having heroes, he says. I dont know why that was. I was getting on my bike, running around and getting into trouble.
The only person I always consistently looked up to and felt was intriguing, and inspired me and had wonderful stories to tell, was my own dad. Maybe that was the reason I didnt have others - he was always endlessly entertaining. I didnt need to look any further.
CHRISTIAN BALESS BIG MOVIES
:: The Spielberg-directed epic Empire Of The Sun made a movie-star of Welsh boy Christian in 1987 when he was just 13 years old. Hed previously appeared in a couple of TV shows and was not prepared for international stardom.
:: It was seven years later in 1994 that Christian got his first adult film role, as Laurie in Little Women alongside Winona Ryder.
:: After parts in independent films such as Metroland and Velvet Goldmine, Christian was a hot topic again in 2000 when he pipped Leonardo DiCaprio to star in controversial flick American Psycho.
:: He appeared in Captain Corellis Mandolin, starred in sci-fi thriller Equilibrium, and earned rave reviews in The Machinist, but it was Batman Begins that pushed Christian into the mainstream in 2005.
:: Taking on the role of John Connor, Christian is currently filming Terminator Salvation, due out summer 2009.
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