Christian Bale worked with a director.
Christian Bale . Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13 , when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg 's Empire of the Sun ( 1987 ) . He is known for going to great lengths to portray characters in films , notably for the psychological thriller The Machinist ( 2004 ) , where he lost 63 pounds ( 28.5 kg ) to play the role of Trevor Reznik . He has since gained further acclaim as well as subsequent Academy Award , Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Russell 's American Hustle ( 2013 ) and Adam McKay 's The Big Short ( 2015 ) .