Christian Bale Couldn't Speak To Chris Rock On Set Of New Movie Because He Was "So Bloody Funny"

Christian Bale avoided Chris Rock on the set of Amsterdam because he was too "bloody funny".

Bale, 48, who's notorious for his method acting on set, said he struggled to get into character while making David O Russell's new movie because his co-star kept making him laugh.

The Oscar-winning actor told IndieWire: "I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him, I’m a big fan of his standup. Then he arrives, and he’s doing some things…

"David [O Russell] 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 [his character] Burt and I’m forgetting how to be Burt.’ ”

Bale admitted the idea of distancing himself from co-stars is a method he adopts as part of his process when he's working on a project, because he helps him stay in character.

He explained: "I often meet these incredible people, but I isolate myself. Because if I get to know people too much, I find I just don’t believe what I’m doing in the scene.”

It's a contrast to the way Margot Robbie and John David Washington worked on the film, as the cast mates forged a close bond as it was the first time they'd worked under the American Hustle helmer.

Margot recently told The Hollywood Reporter: "We immediately kind of clung to each other, like, 'Okay, are you scared? Because I'm scared. Ah! What do we do?

"Then, you dive in headfirst and you have the time of your life, and Christian [Bale's] going like, 'Don't worry. It's always like this. You never know what's going to happen when you go to work that day', and you really don't, and that is thrilling."

Set in the 1930s, Bale, Robbie and John David Washington (Tenet) play three Americans who became best pals after serving in World War I and eventually find themselves embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy. The movie also stars Taylor Swift, Rami Malek, Anya-Taylor Joy, Robert De Niro and Timothy Olyphant. 

Amsterdam (NC16) opens in Singapore cinemas on Oct 6. — BANG SHOWBIZ

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos