Christian Bale shed more than 60 pounds for his role in the 2004 psychological thriller, The Machinist, but according to his co-star, Michael Ironside, that dramatic weight loss wasn't even intentionally scripted.


Christian Bale went the other end of weight loss when he gained 43 pounds for his role in American Hustle (2013) 

As Ironside explained in a recent interview, the writer behind The Machinist had written the part for someone significantly shorter and hadn't adjusted the weight description in the script to reflect Bale's six-foot stature but he welcomed the challenge.