ANYONE who paid good money to see the last two Batman offerings may, understandably, be a little wary at the prospect of Batman Begins.

But Christopher Nolanés imaginative rendering of the DC Comicsé character is a new, tough, gritty Dark Knight that evokes something far more sinister than the gaudy excess and glitzy gadgetry of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.

The casting of Christian Bale indicated that the edgy, independent spirit of the actorés career would not be compromised by this big budget studio affair, a fact he puts down to the directorés singular vision.

éI thought that if the studio was hiring Chris they obviously didnét want business as usual,é Bale adds with a smile.

In interviews the former child actor is a thoughtful man, who answers each question on its merits and shies away from the glib soundbite.

The issues that concern him away from the screen convey the impression that he is a sensitive soul concerned with environmental causes long before it became trendy for actors to front such campaigns.

So heés a world away from the troubled and tormented characters that he has somehow become associated with in the public mind. éI really havenét played that many psychotic or insane characters,é the 31 year-old shrugs, ébut they are more vivid so theyére easier to remember than more everyday characters Iéve played.é

Immediately before donning the Batmanés cape and cowl Bale was working on The Machinist, playing a man whose gaunt physical state was vivid witness to his traumatised mind.

Bale went to extreme lengths to lose 63 pounds for the film, but as soon as filming ended he had to put the weight back on straight away for the biggest role of his life.

Read the rest of this interview in this week's City Life (issue number 589).

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