Movies - TV
Christian Bale Somehow Got The Prestige’s Script Without Christopher Nolan Knowing
By DEVIN MEENAN
One might think that since filmmaker Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale worked together on “Batman Begins” that Nolan wrote the part of Alfred Borden in "The Prestige" with Bale in mind. However, Bale actually had to lobby Nolan for the part of Borden, a masterly magician in Victorian London.
In a 2006 interview with IGN, Nolan revealed, "Christian actually just called out of the blue. I'm not even sure how he got the script, but in the intervening years, the script had kind of made the rounds. He called me up and said he'd be interested to play Borden." Bale has yet to share when he first learned of the script, and it's telling that Borden is the role that he wanted.
Undoubtedly, Bale related to Borden's discomfort performing in front of a crowd because he hasn’t acted much in the theater and to Borden’s devotion to his craft because Bale is a method actor. Nolan may not have written Borden with Bale in mind, but as he told IGN, "It's kind of unthinkable now, anyone else [playing Borden]."