Most actors will modify their physique to meet the requirements of a film job.

But it’s safe to say that Christian Bale frequently goes the extra mile to appear in the part, which is not encouraged.

He notably shed 62 pounds to play Trevor Reznik in 2004’s The Machinist, dropping from 173 pounds to 110 pounds.

And his diet and commitment throughout his most dramatic transformation are simply unbelievable.

Bale played an insomniac tortured by guilt and worry, to the point that he followed a dangerously rigid diet.

He apparently ate only one can of tuna every day, along with one apple. He drank only coffee and water.

This would correspond to roughly 200 calories, which is a frighteningly low number compared to the 2,500 calories suggested for an adult male.

The American Hustle star also stated that he would smoke frequently to satisfy his appetite and read for 10 hours straight to distract his mind from eating.

“It’s an amazing experience doing that,” he told The Guardian in 2018. “When you’re so skinny that you can hardly walk up a flight of stairs, you’re like, “This is a pure thought.”

Bale described his experience with only two hours of sleep each night as ‘the most Zen-like place I’ve ever been in in my life.

“I would eat minimally and lose 51 pounds, only to gain seven pounds in a single night after consuming a few drinks,” he explained.

“So I decided no more social life, no more friends, no more dinners, no more drinks.”

He also revealed to GQ in 2022: “At the time, I was involved in a really dirty habit of smoking.” So I rolled my own cigarettes and sat down to smoke.

“The essential point was that losing all of my physical weight transferred all of my energy to my brain, so I only slept two hours every night, and all I wanted to do was read.

“So I would just sit and read indefinitely, and I discovered that I could read without pausing, moving, or needing a distraction.” “I was able to read for 10 hours without any physical activity.”

However, Bale admitted that shedding so much weight in such a short amount of time was not advisable.

“There was no money in it, and it was like, Ooh bloody hell, I’m gonna lose my place or [where] I’m living,’ and I was quite newly married and all that, so it wasn’t the business-smart thing to do,” he recalls.

His physical metamorphosis is even more impressive since he bulked up to 220 pounds for Batman Begins a year later.