Christian Bale the Workaholic?

看到了 Bale 的片酬，就想到在 GQ 中他提到的那段話。（先前翻譯過的整篇 GQ）

You once said that if you didn't commit the way you do, acting wouldn't feel like a "job." Was that the kind of winking acknowledgment movie stars make about the absurdity of making millions to, you know, dress up in a cape? Or was it something more earnest--that you need to endure not just to play a role correctly but to test yourself?
Definitely the second one. Look, I was doing that long before I could ever have had any guilt about getting paid. I learned a long time ago that if I don't commit completely, I'm not very…content. And yeah, it's bizarre but true: The easier the role, the more they pay you for it. I'm into a realm now where it doesn't matter what you do, you don't deserve to get paid that. It's fair, because if you're not, someone else is gettin' it--and they didn't do what you did for it. But do you deserve it? Hell no.

I'm Not There 裡面 Bale 的戲份是五個 Bob Dylan
中最少的，他還是很盡力的演出。從他講話腔調、
唱歌的片段都看得出他的用心。
連翻紙牌都是五個 Bob Dylan 中翻得最認真的。

GQ : 你曾說過如果你沒達到對角色的承諾，你無法將演戲視為工作。這是不是一種暗示，暗示說電影明星只要表現得荒誕，就可以賺取高額酬勞？比如說，你不過就只是穿著披風。或者你想表達更加嚴肅的的內涵 － 你要去承受的不只是要將戲演好，而且你還想要測試自己的能力。
CB : 我想做的絕對是測試自己。聽我說，在我開始對高額的酬勞產生罪惡感之前，我早就是以這種態度來對待我的工作。多年前我就已經知道，我要是無法完全兌現我對作品本身的承諾，我就無法感到...滿足。沒錯，很弔詭卻又現實的就是︰越簡單的角色所拿到的酬勞越高。我已經走進一個範疇內，一個不管我做了多少我都不配拿到那麼多酬勞的領域中。但那沒有什麼不對，因為如果你不做，也會被別人拿去做。而且 － 他們無法辦到你可以為作品的奉獻。只是，你有資格拿到那麼多嗎？想得美，沒有。

很多人都說 Bale 是個很盡責的演員，他自己也不諱言他對工作的尊重。其實對 Bale 來說，演戲似乎是他嘗試去處於他人的處境中去體會另一種人生的方式。至少我是這樣覺得的。