Christian Bale Almost Died For a Movie That Failed Miserably at Box Office
Not only Tom Cruise risks his life for realistic shots.
Although Tom Cruise is the craziest stunt performer of all Hollywood (and not only Hollywood) actors, other actors also put themselves in dangerous situations for the sake of a role.
Christian Bale is one of them – the actor almost died during the filming of one of the scenes of the movie Rescue Dawn, which undeservedly received little attention and recognition.
For his role in German director Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn, Bale lost 55 pounds – at that time his experiments with his own weight had already become famous.
In the movie, set during the Vietnam War, Bale played a captured pilot. The movie became another test of strength for the actor: he sweated in the jungle, swam in the river with poisonous snakes, and ate live larvae.
One of the scenes almost cost the actor his life – Bale was lifted by the helicopter and almost hit a heavy winch. Christian told the director:
“I am not going to f**king die for you, Werner! You got that?”
However, the situation was resolved well and the actor had no injuries.
According to the movie's plot, German-American pilot Dieter Dengler’s aircraft was shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. Tortured and hungry, Dieter decides to escape with the other prisoners.
When they finally make their daring breakthrough into the jungle, the fugitives discover that the dense rainforest can be a terrifying prison in itself.
Rescue Dawn is based on real events – Dieter Dengler was actually shot down over the jungles of North Vietnam and spent several months in captivity.
Based on his story, the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly was made. In 1997, the movie caught the interest of director Werner Herzog, who decided to retell the story in the form of a feature film, using realism to depict the horrors of captivity.
The movie is considered one of the most underrated in the Bale's filmography. With a budget of $28 million, the movie only grossed $7 million.
However, viewers who did see the movie praised it for the director's ability to shed light on the POW experience and capture the emotional depth of the original story.
Source: The New Yorker