Christian Bale Disappears Into His Role As Former VP Dick Cheney in 'Vice' Trailer!

The first trailer for the film Vice dropped on Wednesday, and holy cannoli, I didn’t recognize Christian Bale at first. The man I once knew as the super-ripped, crime-fighting Dark Knight is no more -- he’s taken on quite the image to portray former Vice President Dick Cheney in this new film. Take a look:

Sam Rockwell plays former President George W. Bush. The trailer opens with Bush and Cheney sitting outside together, having the conversation that would change history -- Bush asking Cheney to be his VP, his Vice. Cheney, hesitant at first, says they might be able to make it work, under some… conditions. Cheney wants to be able to take charge of a few important jobs instead of having a symbolic job and title. He tells Bush that he wants to handle the more “mundane” jobs of the presidency. What he views as “mundane”, though, are actually pretty big responsibilities -- bureaucracy, the military, energy, and foreign policy. Simple stuff! Easy peasy!

Just to say it again, Bale is unrecognizable in this role. He’s done things before to prep his body for a movie role (he was Batman, after all), but this role is different. He gained about 40 pounds and bleached his eyebrows to take on Cheney. He made the decision to seek guidance on gaining the weight with the help of a nutritionist and doctor. He looks stunningly identical to Dick Cheney, even down to the facial movements, speech patterns, and overall mannerisms. Same goes for Sam Rockwell as Dubya -- the voice, his expressions, everything. The cast for this film looks to be spot on.

Joining Bale and Rockwell are Steve Carell as former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney. “When you have power, people will always try to take it away from you,” Adams says as Cheney’s wife.

The trailer ends back where it started -- at the table outside with Bush and Cheney. “So we gon’ do this thing or what, I mean, is this happening?” Bush asks. “I believe… we can make this work,” Cheney replies. And that’s where it begins. The rest of the film will show us Cheney’s career, from CEO to VP.

Vice opens in theaters this Christmas.

(Image via Annapurna Pictures)

- Brooke Sharland, YH Contributing Writer