Vice trailer: Christian Bale looks almost unrecognisable as Dick Cheney

Christian Bale’s has never shied away from extreme diets; the actor famously lost over 62 pounds for The Machinist, bulked out for Batman, and then grew out a pot belly for American Hustle.

Preparing to play Dick Cheney in the upcoming biopic Vice, directed by The Big Short‘s Adam McKay, Bale once again piled on the pounds, revealing to reporters last year that he had “been eating a lot of pies” to gain weight.

Images of Bale during that time period soon emerged online, revealing his transformation into an overweight and balding Cheney.

With the movie’s release fast approaching – 25 December – the first trailer has been released, showing Bale as the 46th Vice President in action.

Vice depicts Cheney’s rise through the political ranks to becoming one of America’s best known Vice Presidents in recent history. Bale’s The Big Short co-star Steve Carell portrays Donald Rumsfeld, while Amy Adams stars as Lynne Cheney, and Sam Rockwell plays George W. Bush.

The movie is being pitched as an awards contender, with Bale once again hoping to strike Oscar gold having been nominated for his role in The Big Short. Meanwhile, Bale was last seen on screens in Hostiles, an Oscars hopeful that fell relatively flat with critics.