Christian Bale says green-screen movies like Thor are ‘monotony’ to film

Christian Bale has said that filming green-screen movies, such as those in the Thor franchise, is “the definition of monotony”.

Bale played supervillain Gorr in 2022’s special-effects-heavy Thor: Love and Thunder, opposite Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson.

In a new interview with GQ, the actor was asked about whether, after his experience of doing the film, he thinks green-screen acting is for him.

“I mean, the definition of it is monotony,” he said. “You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me.

“Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do. I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next.

“They kept saying, ‘You’re on Stage Three.’ Well, it’s like, ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.’ ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ I was like, ‘Uh, where?’”

Elsewhere in the interview, Bale said he doesn’t consider himself as a leading man – despite having played lead roles in numerous Batman films, The Fighter and Vice, to name a few.

“I’ve never considered myself a leading man, it’s just boring,” he said. “You don’t get the good parts. Even if I play a lead, I pretend I’m playing like, you know, the fourth, fifth character down, because you get more freedom.

“I also don’t really think about the overall effect that [a character’s] going to have. It’s for me to play around, much like animals and children do. Have tunnel vision about what you’re doing, not think about the effect you’re having.”

Bale can next be seen in Amsterdam, a Thirties-set film about three friends who witness a murder, are framed for it, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.

Amsterdam is out in cinemas on 7 October.