Even Christian Bale couldn’t stay in character when working with Chris Rock on the set of David O. Russell’s upcoming movie Amsterdam. In an interview with IndieWire, Bale said Rock was “so bloody funny” that he was forced to stop talking to the comedian in order to focus on his role as Burt Berendsen in the film.
“I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I’m a big fan of his standup,” Bale said. “David [O. Russell] told him to tell me some stories that I didn’t know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it.” However, Rock’s stories threw Bale off his game, leading him to take extreme measures.
“Chris is so bloody funny and I found that I couldn’t act, because I was just becoming Christian laughing at Chris Rock,” Bale explained. “So I had to go to him, I went ‘Mate, I love talking to you, and we have mutual friends, but I can’t do it anymore. Because David didn’t ask me to make this film so he could just watch me giggle. He wants me to be Burt, and I’m forgetting how to be Burt.'”
This experience wasn’t anything new for Bale, who sees separating himself from other actors as part of his creative process. “I often meet these incredible people, but I isolate myself,” he added. “Because if I get to know people too much, I find I just don’t believe what I’m doing in the scene.”
Set in the 1930s, Amsterdam follows three friends — played by Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington — who inadvertently witness a murder and become people of interest in the case themselves. The star-studding supporting cast includes Robert De Niro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Timothy Olyphant, Rami Malek, Taylor Swift, and more.
Amsterdam debuts in theaters on October 7th.
