Christian Bale, Public Enemies Interview

Below you can watch Christian Bale as he talks in this video interview about his role in Public Enemies.  From his rise as a golden boy of the FBI to his need to get his hands dirty if he hoped to catch Dillinger, Purvis was just the complex part that Christian Bale was eager to tackle. The actor was particularly interested in the conflict he believed existed within Purvis. “He had such accolades in the press as a hero and was regarded so highly,” offers Bale, “but I think Purvis was very conflicted about the direction that the Bureau was taking in its effort to become efficient.”

Bale extended his feelings about that conundrum to Purvis’ capture of Dillinger and the ruthless tactics pushed by Hoover. “There may have been no satisfaction for Purvis to pursue Dillinger,” he adds. “In my interpretation, I felt that by the time they got him, Purvis must have believed he had to compromise himself and his own values so much that he was questioning who was the loser here.”

As does Depp, Bale engages in extensive research into the characters he plays. For Public Enemies, he and Mann took an investigative trip to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, and spent time with Melvin Purvis’ son, Alston. Because there was no recorded sound available of the senior Purvis’ voice (he died in 1960), Bale chose to use Alston’s southern drawl as his accent for the action-thriller.

The Welsh actor stayed in his character’s voice throughout production, and his dedication had a big impact. Producer Misher explains: “When Alston Purvis came to visit the set, we were at the Biograph Theater where Dillinger was shot. Alston said it was the greatest night of his life, because it was like watching his father come back to life. To have a son of the character who an actor is playing say there’s no other actor on Earth whom he could see play his father…that’s quite a testament to the actor’s performance.”

 Watch the video interview!