“American Psycho” star Christian Bale has been tapped to play Dick Cheney in an upcoming biopic of the former vice president.
Bale was reportedly in talks last week to rejoin director Adam McKay following the pair’s work on the 2015 Oscar-nominated film “The Big Short.” He has confirmed Thursday he has signed on to play Cheney in the yet-to-be-named filmed.
“In the same way as it was a journey of discovery with ‘The Big Short,’ Adam was able to take a story that most people would go comatose listening to,” Bale told the Associated Press. “His ability to make it startling and entertaining and intelligent without compromising anything — he’s masterful at doing that.”
“The Office” star Steve Carrell, who also appeared with Bale in “The Big Short,” will play defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Amy Adams has been cast as the former vice president’s wife, Lynn Cheney.
The unnamed film project will trace Cheney’s professional career from his days as CEO of Halliburton and his journey from being a former congressman to becoming George W. Bush’s vice president. McKay says he always saw the former vice president as a “fascinating” figure.
“Once we started digging, I was astounded at how much he had shaped modern America’s place in the world and how shocking the methods were by which he gained his power,” McKay told Vanity Fair.
He also doesn’t think playing a bald and more rotund Cheney will be a stretch for Bale, who gained 43 pounds for “American Hustle.”
