Christian Bale and Chris Hemsworth made the same mistake while preparing for their superhero roles as Batman in Batman Begins and Thor in the MCU respectively. Landing superhero roles must be an exhilarating experience for actors. After all, this means they get to participate in a multi-million mainstream franchise, potentially launching their careers into something phenomenal. However, that comes at a cost, of course. Believably playing a character straight out of comic books — be it a literal god, alien, or superhuman — demands getting into shape. But sometimes, committed actors take it too far.

One of them is Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. The recently released book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe shares that Hemsworth went through an extreme physical transformation. For Thor, he bulked up too much that his costume no longer fit him, and the film’s costume team needed to make last-minute adjustments to avoid production delay. That was a testament to Hemsworth’s commitment to looking like his comic counterpart.

RELATED: Chris Hemsworth's Muscles Nearly Delayed Thor

Unsurprisingly, Hemsworth was not the first actor to exceed the physical expectations for his superhero role. Christian Bale also went through the same struggle when he donned the famed Batsuit in Christopher Nolan’s critically-acclaimed Batman Begins, which set up The Dark Knight. At the time, Bale had just finished filming The Machinist, where he lost more than 60 pounds to play the titular emaciated character. In just six months, he gained 100 pounds in preparation for the superhero role. He was then informed before shooting began that he needed to lose 20 pounds, as he became bigger than Nolan’s vision of Batman. Unlike Hemsworth who had his costume altered, Bale had to tone down his diet and focus on cardio exercises to achieve his goal.

The Batman's Grave comic and Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

Bale has always been commended for his commitment to alter his physical appearance for a role. In fact, after Batman Begins, he had to lose weight again to star in the 2006 war drama Rescue Dawn. He went on to reprise his role as Batman and Bruce Wayne in the sequel The Dark Knight, but by then, it was easier for him to gain back his weight and muscle strength. Additionally, his costume was also altered to accommodate more agile and flexible movements. For the last film in The Dark Knight trilogy, Bale did not have the same stacked physique, but it still worked as his appearance lined up with the character’s in-universe state.

Aside from going beyond the needed physical transformation for their respective roles, Hemsworth and Bale have so much more in common. Aside from their outstanding acting skills, both share a passion for bringing these comic book characters to life. Obviously, they delivered, as the names Christian Bale and Chris Hemsworth are now synonymous with Batman and Thor, respectively, establishing their respective franchises as fan-favorites and commercial successes. It is no wonder then that comic-book fans are excited to see these actors together in the upcoming MCU entry Thor: Love and Thunder.

NEXT: How Christian Bale's Gorr Will Be Different To Any Other MCU Villain

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