Christian Bale stopped speaking to Chris Rock on the set of “Amsterdam” because the comedian made him laugh too much.
The British actor reunited with his “American Hustle” director David O. Russell for the mystery-comedy, in which he, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington play three friends who become prime suspects in a murder case.
The trio is joined by a star-studded supporting cast featuring the likes of Rock, Zoe Saldana, Robert De Niro, and Rami Malek.
In an interview with Indiewire, Bale revealed that Rock made him laugh so much on his first day on set that he couldn’t get into the mindset of his character Burt and had to distance himself.
“I was excited to meet him, I’m a big fan of his stand-up,” he shared. “David told him to tell me some stories that I didn’t know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it.”
“But Chris is so bloody funny, and I found that I couldn’t act because I was just becoming Christian laughing at Chris Rock. So, I had to go to him, I went, ‘Mate, I love talking to you, and we have mutual friends, but I can’t do it anymore. Because David didn’t ask me to make this film so he could just watch me giggle. He wants me to be Burt, and I’m forgetting how to be Burt.'”
Bale explained that he often isolates himself from his co-stars because it helps his acting process.
“I often meet these incredible people, but I isolate myself,” he noted. “Because if I get to know people too much, I find I just don’t believe what I’m doing in the scene.”
“Amsterdam” is released in cinemas on October 7th.