Christian Bale in The Prestige
Interview: Christian Bale
“I’m bloody awful, because everyone
thinks I’d be good,” Bale said. “I know the beginning
of it and I know the end of it, but our advisors, they would never teach
me the entire trick. And I respected this very much in them that they recognize,
as my character says in the movie, ‘The value of magic is in the mystery.’
You tell people how it’s done and that’s it. It’s not
only not interesting anymore it’s bloody annoying once you find out
how it’s done. The only different kind of trick I would say is sleight
of hand. Because, that, I found it even more stunning when they showed me
how they were doing it. There are a few things like that I had to learn
which we didn’t end up using in the movie anyway. But, I admired that
immensely. Just the hours, the commitment, basically a lifetime of commitment
these guys devote to it.”
Ricky Jay and Michael Weber taught Bale everything he knows, but not everything
they know. “They were stunning beyond belief. Like I said, to me it’s
the mechanics, the sleight of hand that I was so impressed with and just
the fluidity. They are doing it like they are just sitting down and having
breakfast. And this is disappearing and this is coming out of here and they
are pulling that there. And we are sitting in an office with florescent
lighting and he’s got no sleeves and they are telling me, ‘I’m
about to do this to you.’ ‘No you’re not.’ And then
he does it. Truly incredible. What I like very much there is that this is
a lifetime obsession for them. I went around to their houses and stuff and
it is what they live and breathe, night and day. And I admire that when
you find somebody who has such an all-engaging obsession. I just like that.
And you just know this has been not hours, not days, but years of practice
to get as good as they are. And I liked very much the integrity in the way
they do their craft. In doing like a little riffle into a hat. No, no, there
was no way they would use strings between the cards. Yes, it would have
looked perfect, but that was for hats. They were proper magicians. If they
were going to be our advisors, I was going to bloody learn how to do it
properly. And do it all in the correct way and I liked that.”
Magic runs in Bale’s family. “My grandfather was a magician,
I never saw him perform or anything, but he always remembers the magic circle
in London. By the time I kind of knew that, he had a few old tricks in a
chest up in the attic and he would pull it down now and then, but most of
them were busted so he’d describe how they were done before. But,
certainly he very much enjoyed that.”
Wait for the DVD of The Prestige to see some of Bale’s
less successful attempts at playing the star magician. “There were
awful lot of disastrous attempts at magic that ended very badly, but to
be honest those were just as enjoyable as when you succeeded and nailed
it. It’s kind of nice to be making a fool of yourself in front of
hundreds of extra’s who are all there snickering when you get it wrong.”
Stay tuned for updates.
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