You have to treat yourself like a mushroom to some degree, in order to keep on discovering things.
Christian BaleWhatever you do, do it completely. Don't do it half-arsed. Do it more than anybody else would.
Christian BaleIf I'm not working, I really have nothing to do with it - I'm not hanging out and mixing with film people. Not that I have anything against film people; they're some of the best people around and some of the worst people around, just like in any business... they just gesticulate a little bit more.
Christian BaleI have this theory that, depending on your attitude, your life doesn't have to become this ridiculous charade that it seems so many people end up living.
Christian BaleIt helps so much being on location. It's like the difference between performing for the rectangle of the camera versus a world being created and then the camera finds things within that. There's a huge difference in that, because what it takes away is performance. You don't feel like performing. You're just kind of doing it. You're existing.
Christian BaleDieter Dengler was an amazing man. Who knows what he would've been had he not ever been tested in this way? It's a question that I certainly have myself. What would I be able to do in certain situations? He came out, obviously, looking like a true hero, but he didn't go in looking like that. He was not your typical image of somebody that you would think would be the tough guy who was able to endure. His lighthearted attitude, this sort of dorkiness, and naivete; it ended up being the finest tool for his survival.
Christian Bale