Christian Bale Fell Asleep Filming Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (Photo Credit – Netflix)
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Filming an iconic franchise can bring down the mightiest of actors. The gruelling hours can take a toll even on the most consummate professionals. Christian Bale can attest to this. The Prestige actor once had to be shaken awake by his baffled co-star Michael Caine after he nodded off mid-scene.
In 2005, Christopher Nolan was recruited to reboot the Batman franchise after the disastrous performance of 1997’s “Batman & Robin.” Critics and audiences slammed the film starring George Clooney and Chris Donnell. It also tanked at the box office, grossing a subdued $238 million against a budget of $125 million.
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Christopher Nolan then swooped in to save the franchise from the brink of extinction. Nolan added his own darker spin to the Batman origin story, which was missing from its predecessors. However, it was a challenging task.
Nolan’s reboot proved to be quite demanding on Christian Bale. He was not only asked to shed 40 pounds to fit Christopher Nolan’s vision of Batman/Bruce Wayne, but he also underwent intense training for the role. Bale and Liam Neeson also filmed in an Icelandic lake’s freezing temperatures, which often threatened to crack. The strain of filming caused Bale to fall asleep during a scene with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.
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Bale explained that the scene involved him waking up from sleep. Bale, who was bone-tired, reportedly laid down to act and dropped off, startling Micahel Caine. Bale told Uproxx, “In the scene, I was meant to be waking up, so I laid down and just fell asleep. And I didn’t hear ‘action.’ So, Michael and Morgan were talking, and I was supposed to join in. I woke up with Michael Caine poking me in the ribs and going, ‘Look at that! He’s bloody fallen asleep, hasn’t he? He’s bloody fallen asleep!'” (via slashfilm)
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The hard work obviously paid off. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Films is not just a commercial success but also the best-reviewed film in the franchise to date.
