Christian Bale has revealed his performance as Frankenstein in the Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed The Bride! was inspired by Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and Manic Street Preachers’ Richey Edwards. You can watch the full interview above.
Speaking to NME, Bale said there was “so much music” on the set of The Bride!, with Gyllenhaal asking him and his co-star Jessie Buckley (who plays The Bride) to send her as many songs as possible that either informed their take on the classic characters, or that they could potentially use in the film’s soundtrack.
Bale used a lot of “straight up punk stuff” to shape his version of Frankenstein (AKA Frank) including New York rockers the Osees, as well as The Pogues and Spacemen 3 while “incredible singer” Buckley was listening to a lot of Spiritualized.
Punk also influenced the outfits Bale’s Frank wore. “An early inspiration was Sid Vicious in the white jacket, walking down the steps and singing ‘My Way’ [in the 1980 music comedy The Great Rock & Roll Swindle]. Edwards from the Manic Street Preachers cutting ‘4 Real’ into his arm [in front of an NME journalist] was another.”
The Bride! also features a striking ballroom dance scene. According to Bale, he “loves to dance but isn’t much of a dancer,” so had to think outside the box for Frank’s choreography. “One of the inspirations was a chimpanzee shitting into his hand then throwing it, which I’ve actually experienced at San Diego zoo! It’s a protest dance that ends in revolution though. It’s something of an answer to meeting your heroes. Frank finally meets his hero [in the film] Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal) but because of his intense loneliness and lack of companionship, can’t believe that Ronnie doesn’t know him as well as he knows Ronnie. He’s an Eminem Stan figure really. The dance comes out of the pain of being rejected – and it’s the birth of the true Frank.”
Despite being a huge music fan, Bale hasn’t met any of his rock and roll heroes. “I don’t want to and I don’t need to. It’s their art I’m interested in,” he explained. “I know that I’m a complete disappointment for anyone to meet because the best of me is in [the] film.”
However, he did confirm the online rumours that he attended a Harry Styles gig at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles back in 2022 were true. “I was there to see [support act] Ben Harper because he’s a friend of a friend, but full kudos to Harry. It was a fantastic show.”
Speaking about the albums he can’t live without, Bale listed The Pogues’ ‘Hell’s Ditch’, Happy Monday’s ‘Bummed’ and Spiritualised’s ‘Lazer Guided Melodies’ and ‘Pure Phase’. “There are going to be so many bands that I don’t mention, and that I’ll feel awful about,” he said. “Music is the most essential art form in my life. Movies are ridiculously difficult because you’re incorporating everything into one. Music you can carry with you. I use it for acting all the time. It’s the thing I would absolutely die without.”
‘The Bride!’ is in UK cinemas now