In the latest edition of Esquire Magazine (on new stands now) talented thespian Christian Bale speaks about his early years as a child actor, “when he did fantasy movies and even sang and danced in a Disney musical called “Newsies.” Now he cringes at the words “child actor.”
BALE: I spent many years trying to pretend I wasn’t.
ESQUIRE: Why?
BALE: Because it’s embarrassing.
ESQUIRE: Why?
BALE: Well, it’s embarrassing to be a star. Most people look at you like, “That’s not a fucking job, is it?” And then on top of that, you learn very quickly that you’re just a tool — other people are manipulating everything you do, you’re at the mercy of editors, and there’s nothing you can do. But I learned that there’s a certain character that can be built from embarrassing yourself endlessly. If you can sit happy with embarrassment, there’s not much else that can really get to ya.
