Watch CBS News

"Ford v Ferrari" star Christian Bale is done with dramatic weight fluctuations for movie roles

Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale has undergone dramatic weight fluctuations for roles in such films as "Vice," in which he played Vice President Dick Cheney, and the new film "Ford v Ferrari," in which he stars as the much slender race car driver Ken Miles. Now, in an interview to be broadcast on "CBS Sunday Morning" November 10, Bale told correspondent Tracy Smith he's done with the seesaw weight changes.

Smith talked with Bale and Matt Damon about the new film "Ford v Ferrari," in which Damon plays the late famed automotive genius Carroll Shelby, who in 1966 was tasked by Ford Motor Company to create a race car to beat those produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans road race.

Bale plays Miles, the driver hired to race for Ford.

"I had a great time watching him," Damon said of working with Bale. "He's got [an] incredible monk-like discipline, like, when he went from Dick Cheney to this guy. So, he had to lose 70 pounds."

"I keep saying I'm done with it," Bale said of his weight fluctuations. "I really think I'm done with it, yeah!"

christian-bale-in-vice-and-ford-v-ferrari-annapurna-20th-century-fox-620.jpg
Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in the 2018 film "Vice," and as race driver Ken Miles in "Ford v Ferrari." Annapurna Pictures/20th Century Fox

"Ford v Ferrari" is the first film in which Damon and Bale have worked together. In addition to discussing the movie's world of auto racing and their characters' exploits, Smith also talked with Bale about roles that he has landed because Damon had turned them down, such as "The Fighter," for which Bale won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

"I am very grateful to Matt because I wouldn't have a career if it wasn't for roles he passed on," Bale said. "There are many roles where I was told, 'Oh, well, Matt doesn't wanna do it.' So they went, 'Ugh, all right, what about Bale?' And then I got the role. So, thank you for that, Matt!" 

"Ford v Ferrari" opens in theatres November 15. To watch a trailer click on the video player below:

FORD v FERRARI | Official Trailer 2 [HD] | 20th Century FOX by 20th Century Fox on YouTube

For more info:

The Emmy Award-winning "Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9 a.m. ET, and is rebroadcast on Pop TV at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT. "Sunday Morning" also streams on CBSN beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET and repeated at 1 p.m. ET, and is available on cbs.com, CBS All Access and On Demand.

Be sure to follow us at cbssundaymorning.com, and on Twitter (@CBSSunday), Facebook, and Instagram (#CBSSundayMorning).

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.