CHRISTIAN BALE "Terminator: Salvation: By: Scott Orlin

Q. Did you have any reservations about going from one iconic role in BATMAN to that of John Connor in TERMINATOR?
BALE: I didn't have reservations about that. I just didn't want to do the movie for various reasons. The script wasn't good enough at the time when I first read it. It had nothing to do with me playing BATMAN and John Connor. It was more about what was the point of another TERMINATOR movie. I have absolute respect for all the filmmakers but I didn't like the third one. I didn't know the ideas they were going to have for successfully reinventing the franchise. I liked the idea that it could happen because I liked the first two films very much. But it wasn't there in the script that I read. I said no a couple of times but Mc G was relentless in coming back and eventually we agreed that if we started from scratch again, then it might be possible.

Q. How do you feel when you say no to a project and they keep coming back to you? DO you start getting annoyed or is it flattering?
BALE: It depends if they are coming back with a different idea or not, if not then yes it gets annoying. It wasn't like that. It wasn't only me that recognized that it wasn't really working on the page.

Q. What did you see that needed to be changed from that initial script?
BALE: There was an awful lot. In the original version of the script I would have only worked about seven days. After the writers strike, Jonah Nolan came in and did some great work in a matter of weeks and suddenly we had something worth filming. It was different from the previous films but respectful of the mythology. It continued with the same world but didn't rely on the same old - same old. You can't keep repeating the same central villain who keeps pursuing and never stops. That is the nature of the Terminators but how many times can you keep doing that formula? When I saw that Jonah had come up with something good as well as giving my character more to do then I knew this was the film I could make.

Q. Why was John Connor only working seven days in the original script?
BALE: I don't know. It was just the bizarre notion of the original writers. The Connor's have always been the central figures throughout the movies. Why was that rule being broken?

Q. I was reading a statistic that there have been six different actors who played the role of John Connor from various film and TV projects. For you, did you ever look at performances from the younger actors who have played this part to continue little nuances of the character?
BALE: No. I didn't at all. I did look at the films but not for the specific performances. If you look at John in the various films, he is a whole different man from the first film to the second one. He is someone living with the prediction of what his life could become. I felt no need to try and continue any of that. The only thing that we really continued was his adeptness with technology, but now he has the weight of the world on his shoulders as he is leading his men and responsible for having those leadership qualities. John in T2 did not.

Q. As you didn't want to base him on the character from the previous films, where did you start to construct who this man was?
BALE: I just looked at someone who has this crazy knowledge - to know what he is destined to become. There is a cult-like religious knowledge there. I wanted to temper that and ground him. It was going from something as superficial as the clothing. When I first got on set, they wanted to adorn me with feathers and other such superstitious things but I felt John Connor was the least superstitious person. He cuts through that bull and sees through it. I wanted to make him a very pragmatic person because that is what he has had to become in the midst of this insanity. When he finds himself in a world where everything has been turned upside down and there is no resemblance to the world he knows, his reaction is to become pragmatic and not mourn the loss of what came before. It was not to make him inhuman but to explain why he is capable of what he has to do. He is an absolute leader. He can be stern and rough but he cares so much. I knew it was essential that he was the first man in. He is always on the front line and leads by example.

Q. Ironically we do see how machines have become so relevant in our daily lives. From cell phones to traffic signals, machines control so much of what we do.
BALE: True, so it is not a huge stretch of imagination to jump to this extraordinary world that we will never see. I don't think we will ever see machines walking around that look like humans. I think that is a nice construct of the film.

Q. How are you with technology?
BALE: I am technologically oblivious, but I do recognize its importance.

Q. How did you and Sam Worthington map out how you would choreograph the tension?
BALE: We had conversations about that but not a great deal. Sam is a no nonsense kind of actor; you just get going and do it. You discover the ideas as they come along by just doing it. You do your preparation and then you forget it afterwards and hopefully it is instilled in you and called upon when needed.

Q. Had you seen Sam's work before this film? He is a relative newcomer from Australia.
BALE: I had seen SOMERSAULT, a film that he did in Australia. I thought he was excellent and he was an actor that didn't behave like an actor. When I saw him, I knew that I wanted him to be the other lead. I loved the fact that he wasn't known in the States either. I don't think he will be unknown for long. He will be on fire. He is going to be so bloody big that he will need to learn how to turn on the brakes.

Q. You had a very close relationship with Christopher Nolan on the BATMAN films. How did you work with McG on this film?
BALE: They are totally different. It's what I love so much about what I do. You get to work with these different personalities. With directors, they never work with each other so they have no idea how the others work. McG is a larger than life character. He is one of the best directors in making the crew feel absolutely involved and feel appreciated. That is a wonderful talent to be able to do that. So many crews feel left out and he includes everyone. In the long hours of this job, there was never anyone grumbling on this set. He is confident in his own judgment but always wanting to move forward and make something different than the films he has done before so he is always open to hearing other ideas. He will not take them all on otherwise he is not a director any longer. He needs to have a feeling that everyone around him is full of ideas and has their own very strong opinion of how a scene should play out and the structure of the picture. He then sits backs and makes decisions. He is always open to the notion that two heads are better than one. But it's a director's

Q. You have been fearless in approaching your roles, from losing weight to doing many of your own stunts. How do you decide what is enough and how far you can physically take yourself?
BALE: There were not many places we used stunt doubles on this film. We did have some because of time constraints. We actually shot this movie much quicker than most people shoot a film like this. We shot for 70 days where most films of this size would take 120 to 130 days. There were occasions where stunts were being shot and I had to do another scene so I couldn't do both. Whenever I could, I wanted to be there. I never believe an action scene is there just for the sake of action. It should be there for story otherwise you should cut them. I consider it part of the performance, so therefore I should be in the fight. I will do as much as I can. With this film, I found I could do an awful lot of it.

Q. Does it ever take a physical toll?
BALE: Yes but no more than many other films I have made. There is not a lot of grappling and wrestling with a Terminator. You would just smash your bones to pieces if you took them on physically. John Connor is smart and relies on his intelligence and knows which weapons are needed to take down a Terminator. A lot of it was about gun control and familiarity with that. I have a great trust in the riggers and stuntmen because I worked with them on the BATMAN movie.

Q. How much were Stan Winston's practical Terminators on set a help to you?
BALE: It is very good to have them on set. They were amazing and were great as long as they were never given expressions, otherwise they could become comical. It is like any skeleton. These are expressionless and emotionless creatures. It was great having them right there. When I fought the T600, it was bloody heavy and threw me around and beat the crap out of me. There are very talented puppeteers controlling that and then these CGI guys come in made it feel like it was all self-propelling. That was stunning. When I saw all of that, I realized that I just met the stars of the film. The T600 and the T800 are the stars. It is fascinating.

Q. You were ten years old when the first film came out. What do you recall about that?
BALE: I saw it later on video with some friends. I do remember when I was 17 going to see TERMINATOR 2. It was the most enthusiastic crowd I have ever sat with at a theater. I could barely hear any of the dialogue in the movie.

Q. I want to talk with you about the image of the action star. It used to be brawn over brains and the stars were all about the muscles. Now we see with actors like you in this film and even with BATMAN, it really is more an intellectual approach. We seem to be redefining the action hero.
BALE: That is one of the things that I find fascinating. Schwarzenegger was so super human. Who the hell had ever seen a guy built that big before? He has since had many imitators so it has ceased to be a novelty. But Schwarzenegger will always be the originator. (Pointing to his muscles) Hey look at this. I can't compete so I have to find something other than my strength to compete. It is a progression in action films that I credit Chris Nolan with for raising the bar and for taking movies that could potentially be cartoonish or just pure action and making them have substance and intelligence. We have to compete with that now. These films are superior to those films of the 1980's. Then it was just enough to have a big guy beat the crap out of everyone but now we need something new.

Q. Actors sometimes like to be pampered on set. When you did the Werner Herzog film, you shot in the middle of the jungle and really had to deal with all the elements. In this film, you have to do wire work and get beaten up. How does that physical activity enhance your performance?
BALE: I feel like I work when I bleed (laugh). I remember a story I heard about Jimi Hendrix how he would play till there was blood coming out of fingers onto the strings. I loved that image of someone who ignored pain because he loved what he was doing so much. I like that. I didn't get into this for creature comforts.

Q. Do you feel any character you have played has left an impression upon you?
BALE: Honestly, I never think about any character that I have played leaving an impression upon me and I never compare characters.

Q. You have played so many diverse characters from Jesus to a magician to a serial killer to a super hero. How do you get rid of these people at the end of the day?
BALE: I always hate sounding like some wanker who talks about his acting; but yes there is a truth to it  that often when you play a character you like them a great deal and so you feel like you hate to say goodbye to them at the end of the day. Then there are other characters that I take on that family and friends are dying for me to lose! They don't want that person around any longer. Take the character of Jim in HARSH TIMES; there was not a soul around me who wanted that character around any more.

Q. Having been on a few of your sets, sometimes you talk to the press on set and sometimes you don't. How do you differentiate when you feel comfortable to talk and when you don't?
BALE: In all honestly, for TERMINATOR we were working longer hours with late night sessions working on the script. After that that I felt like I was still in a state of discovery while we were making it. I didn't feel like I wanted to talk publicly about what I was trying to figure out myself.

Q. What do you hope audiences will take out of this film when they leave the theater?
BALE: I hope that we have done something that has its own identity while still being respectful to the mythology, and that people will recognize that there is a reinvigoration here and that they will give us the opportunity to really excel and make a second one. If we fail, then we put the nail in the coffin. But if we succeed, we have an opportunity to continue with this fantastic mythology.

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