WATCH: Christian Bale’s body transformation for new Dick Cheney movie

Anyone who has followed the career of Christian Bale will know that he’s an actor who commits to every roles, both in terms of his performance and, sometimes, with his physical shape.

Between movies like The Dark Knight, American Hustle and The Fighter, viewers have seen the British thespian’s physique change from absolutely shredded, to slightly overweight, to pretty emaciated. Hell, anyone who caught his performance in the dark cerebral thriller The Mechanic will know that Bale is an actor who is literally prepared to starve himself for his art.

Even so, fans will probably struggle to recognise him in his new film Vice, a dramatisation of the life and times of former US Vice President, Dick Cheney. Not only has Bale put on a ton of weight for the part, his hairline and mannerisms cause viewers to double-take as he looks so like the former VP.

Also starring Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Vice is written and directed by Adam McKay, who helmed The Big Short and several Will Ferrell films including Anchorman 1 and 2 and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Vice is scheduled for release on December 25th this year, because nothing says Christmas like a movie about a man who many see as the architect of the Iraq War.

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