If there’s one thing we know about Christian Bale, it’s that he seems to have a superhuman ability to physically transform for a role.
The dedicated actor lost over 60 pounds for The Machinist, then gained 109 pounds of pure muscle for Batman Begins, only to then grow a shocking beer gut for American Hustle.
Now he’s at it again in the new trailer for Vice, which stars Bale as Dick Cheney and follows his rise to power with a psychological portrayal of one of the most polarizing Vice Presidents in American history.
We all knew that Bale would gain a little girth for the part, but when the trailer for the biographical drama dropped on Wednesday, fans literally could not believe how unrecognizable he is.
As a reminder, this is Christian Bale:
And this is also Christian Bale:
In case you’ve forgotten, here’s what the real Dick Cheney looked like.
This Christian Bale Dick pic is pretty unreal. pic.twitter.com/CD5V76IReN
— C. Robert Cargill (@Massawyrm) October 2, 2018
In an interview with CBS’s “This Morning,” Bale said that he shaved his head, bleached his eyebrows, and gained forty pounds for the role, noting that he finally got a nutritionist to gain weight in a way that wasn’t detrimental to his health.
“It was the first time in my life that I realized I had to do this in a smart way,” he said. “I’ve lost weight, I’ve gained weight, [but] I never went to a nutritionist in my life. It was the first time that I said, ‘You know what? I better really do this the right way.’”
And while people are obviously praising Bale for his dedication, his transformation is so staggering that it’s turning into its own meme.
These side-by-side photos of Bale fit pretty perfectly into the “Me Before Trump vs Me After Trump” meme that’s been going around the Internet.
Christian Bale before Trump became president vs. Christian Bale after Trump became president pic.twitter.com/m73NvG7JcO
— Diane N. Sevenay (@Diane_7A) October 3, 2018
But there have also been a lot of jokes about how he might have overshot a bit and accidentally turned in Chevy Chase.
For his new project Christian Bale, in his most ambitious transformation yet, has turned himself into Chevy Chase pic.twitter.com/ijXsOGPRkd
— kamBOO!le
