Christian Bale shouldn’t be afraid of going to the dark side.
While Bale, 50, is definitely recognized for his role because the selfless superhero Batman, the Academy Award-winning actor is arguably best known for his role as ultimate bad boy Patrick Bateman. Bale’s villainous character in 2000’s American Psycho has turn into synonymous with corporate greed and toxic masculinity, all while wielding a chainsaw.
Greater than 20 years after Bale taught Us to background check our first dates, he stretched his villain muscle again in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder as Gorr the God Butcher. In a noir-style performance, Bale served because the antithesis of all things joyful and good — the final word bad guy of the multiverse.
“There’s an awesome pleasure in playing a villain,” Bale said of his Thor: Love and Thunder character during a 2022 press event. “It’s lots easier to play a villain than it’s to play a hero — Chris [Hemsworth] had a much tougher job. , everyone seems to be fascinated with the bad guys, immediately.”
Bale went on to say that a well-written bad guy can evoke each hatred and empathy, adding that when an actor successfully plays a villain “you type of understand perhaps why this guy is making awful decisions.”
“He’s a monster and he’s a butcher, but is possibly slightly understanding of why he got here to be that way,” he concluded.
From a polarizing political figure to an all-powerful demigod, listed below are Bale’s most iconic villain roles, ranked:
