The Real Reason Christian Bale Had A Tough Time On The Thor: Love And Thunder Shoot
The release of "Thor: Love and Thunder" marked yet another A-list actor's entrance into the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe, adding Christian Bale to the franchise's star-studded cast list. The former "Batman" actor embraced his dark side for the Asgardian outing, portraying the tragic villain Gorr the God Butcher opposite Chris Hemsworth's Thor. But while Bale easily gave one of the best performances in "Thor: Love and Thunder," his experience working on the flick was not as positive as one might think.
It's no secret that several actors were absolutely miserable filming "Thor" movies, whether it be due to reshoots, creative disputes, or the eye-popping amount of time it took to get into costume. Unfortunately, it appears that Christian Bale marks yet another addition to that list. As the actor revealed following the release of "Thor: Love and Thunder," he had a difficult time filming the movie for one specific reason.
Bale doesn't like green-screen acting
It's well-established that the MCU heavily relies on post-production special effects to realize its live-action superheroics. Unfortunately, this green-screen-intensive filming style took a lot of wind out of the sails for Christian Bale when filming "Thor: Love and Thunder."
In an GQ interview, Bale spoke about shooting the CGI-stuffed movie. "I mean, the definition of it is monotony," the actor said. "You've got good people. You've got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me. Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not." Bale continued, noting that the various green-screen stages for filming were virtually indistinguishable from one another.
Other prominent Marvel actors have similarly commented on the MCU's reliance on post-production effects. Elizabeth Olsen, the actress behind Scarlet Witch, told Variety that shooting Marvel movies feels "very embarrassing" due to having to act out scenes before special effects have been added. "You have one hand out that's stopping something with energy," she explained, referencing her final scene with Paul Bettany's Vision in "Avengers: Infinity War." "And then you've got another hand that's extracting this fake thing from this dotted face. And it's painful and emotional."
But while shooting "Thor: Love and Thunder" was tough for Bale, he hasn't sworn off appearing in fantastical blockbuster franchises — in fact, quite the opposite. Bale even has a specific "Star Wars" role he wants to play, should the opportunity arise. Hopefully he'd have an easier time on set for that project.