I absolutely cannot wait to the this movie, The Fighter, starring two of my all time favourite actors, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. From IMDB

“The Fighter, is a drama about boxer “Irish” Micky Ward’s unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO’d by drugs and crime”

What is amazing is that Christian Bale has once again cut down to virtually nothing, not as extreme as he did in The Machinist, but he’s clearly very skinny in the movie compared to what he usually is. He cut down for The Machinist and then bulked up again for Batman, now he’s skinny again. Mark Wahlberg hasn’t really changed over the years, staying pretty true to a ripped body all the way from his Calvin Klein days, Four Brothers, Shooter and now The Fighter. Having trained some 4 years for the role, Wahlberg is in the shape of his life. As a boxer, he needed all the training he could get, going so far as to install a boxing ring in his house, with some reports saying he spent 4 years training for the role, often waking up at 4:30am for 3 hour training sessions (SOURCE) Check out his boxing ring at home, with a basketball court right next to it (Via Luxist)

Mark Wahlbergs home boxing ring

The Examiner tells us that Wahlberg spent so much money on preparing for the role, that he was left about $500000 out of pocket by the time filming was finished, from using his budget salary to pay his trainers to teach him to fight (SOURCE). If this is the sort of dedication and passion that Wahlberg put into this film, we are in for an absolute spectacle. Judging by the trailer, and by Wahlbergs past movies, this is going to be one of the finest movies we’ve seen in a long time. I’m sick of movies with hype, I love real movies, made with blood, sweat and tears. If your lead actor is willing to put so much physical energy, and money, into getting a film made, you know there is something different. Mark Wahlberg just approaches acting differently, and I love him for it.

Mark Wahlberg all bulked up for his role as Micky Ward in The Fighter

Christian Bale is another insanely talented actor who puts his whole life into his roles, and if you haven’t seen Empire Of The Sun, you need to hire it and see Bale giving the performance of a lifetime, only being 13 years old at the time. He’s followed this role up with performances in American Psycho, The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Machinist, Public Enemies and now The Fighter. Known for his method acting, he bulks up and slims down as roles require, often taking things to the extreme, as seen in The Machinist.

Christian Bale looking horrific in The Machinist

He’s cut down considerably for The Fighter, but as you can see, he’s not quite the anorexic size he was in The Machinist.

Bale and Wahlberg on the set of The Fighter

Bale looking trimmed, complete with thinning hair, for The Fighter

To do this for a role requires incredible determination, and really sets him apart from other actors. It is this determination that separates the great actors, because they have the drive within them to do whatever a role needs, as opposed to the pretty boy actors who want the easy roles to make money. The actors who just take any roles to make a bit of cash. The popcorn actors.

Bale in a scene from The Fighter

Let’s have a look at the official trailer for The Fighter:

The Fighter is is released on the 25th of February 2011 in Ster Kinekor cinemas.