Watch: Christian Bale discusses business relationship with director Scott Cooper
Christian Bale admitted that he is not a workaholic and did not always want to work. After collaborating on 2013’s crime drama Out of the Furnace and 2017’s western Hostiles, she reunites with director Scott Cooper for the third time on the Gothic mystery The Pale Blue Eye.
In the Netflix thriller that airs on the platform January 6, Bale plays veteran detective Augustus Landor, who is summoned to the military academy to investigate a murder in 1830, where he meets a young Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling).
But despite the closeness of their creative relationship, Bale said he didn’t immediately say “yes” to every script Cooper submitted.
“He’s a cheetah and I’m a slacker. He wants me to work hard,” the 48-year-old actor told Yahoo.
Read more: Christian Bale named best big screen Batman of all time
“Sometimes he really tries to nudge me and I say, ‘I don’t want to do anything.
“But we have a lot of projects that we’re discussing and at least a few that we plan to do in the future.”
“When working with people [often]you just realize that there is an understanding between the two of you,” Bale adds of his business relationship with Cooper.
“Obviously, as a director, if you find someone who understands your vision and achieves what you hope to achieve, then they seem to come back.
Read more: Christian Bale vows to stop dramatic weight changes
“I am so grateful for that and really enjoy working with Scott. I love his ideas.
“There’s a nice shortcut between the two of us at this point, and I enjoy being his right-hand man as he tries to achieve his vision no matter what movie we’re making.”
Pale Blue Eye is based on Louis Bayard’s 2003 mystery novel and takes its viewers right into the heart of a cold winter in a secluded New York military academy.
Melling said it was “incredible” to be surrounded by this environment as she took on the role of Poe and found the tone of the Gothic fairy tale.
Read more: Harry Melling looks back at Harry Potter role
He said: “Just in terms of the view and how it looks and feels, I think it’s Masa [Masanobu Takayanagi]DOP has done a great job in terms of feel and look.
“It’s really exciting to have a view like this and then drive a real tense thriller who doesn’t know it.
“I’ve always liked a surprise, so it’s very exciting to present a very unique version of him with these great characters.”
Read more: See How The Stars Run Announce Who’s Favorite
Bale and Melling are surrounded by a star-studded cast of talent, including Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Toby Jones, Timothy Spall and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Pale Blue Eye is available to watch on UK Netflix from January 6th.
Watch: The Pale Blue Eye Trailer