US – Friday, July 30

Bale does light-lifting

The intense star can take a break in ‘Public Enemies’

 Christian Bale is more relaxed than usual, and with good reason. The heavy lifting in promoting his latest film, “Public Enemies,” falls to Johnny Depp. For once, the success or failure of the movie doesn’t rest on Bale’s shoulders. There’s no talk of on-set outbursts or franchise potential. And for that, he’s grateful — and cheerful.

“I’m very much a supporting role in this movie,” he says, smiling. Still, his portrayal of FBI agent Melvin Purvis, who hunted down celebrity outlaw John Dillinger with a tenacity and single-mindedness that drove him to quit the Bureau a year after Dillinger’s death, is nothing to scoff at. And Bale found plenty in Purvis to explore.

“He did not fit the mold of the majority of the FBI agents of the day,” Bale explains. “He was an extraordinary man who was brought low by his success.”

That’s something many would assume Bale would be able to sympathize with — or at least would be worried about. But Bale tries not to obsess about his career too much. “I’ve never paid attention to my reputation,” he insists. “I make movies that I feel I would like to see.”

Sometimes those are smaller, more intimate films, but lately they’ve been blockbusters like “The Dark Knight” and this summer’s earlier release, “Terminator Salvation.” But don’t let the blockbusters fool you. “In no way does making a few large movies mean that that’s what I always want to do,” Bale insists.

“Public Enemies” was shot with HD video instead of film, something new for Bale, who also dabbled in IMAX technology for “The Dark Knight.” But with HD, he found a new sense of freedom as an actor. “There was such momentum and experimentation and more similarity to life,” Bale says. “Being able to run that camera for 52 minutes straight without having to stop, I found that to be wonderful.”

But aside from the technical benefits, Bale can understand why everyone’s making such a big deal out of these advancements. “In most people’s households, they have such advanced technology for watching movies nowadays, they have to ask themselves why bother?” he says. “That’s why there’s the sudden obsession with 3-D and IMAX and needing to provide something greater that people cannot witness in their own homes.”

Still, just because he understands technology does not mean he’s into it himself. “I don’t even have TiVo,” Bale admits. “I don’t have caller ID. I use a pen and paper.”