How Christian Bale Became Dick Cheney (and Other Tales of Transformation)

Of all the monsters, Cheney takes the prize. Some might argue that Trump is worse, but compare their body count. Some might say Trump is a bigger crook, but stealing the Iraqi oil fields and handing them over to the Halliburton Corp., his old company, qualifies in my mind as the largest robbery in history. Some might contend Trump is a bigger liar, and with over 4,000 lies counted by the Washington Post in two years of office, Trump has the numbers. But the results of Cheney's strategic lies about weapons of mass destruction resulted in the cultural genocide of Iraqi civilization and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, not to mention the post-invasion stupidity that practically invited ISIS to form . . . . Joan Didion wrote in the NY Review of Books about how Cheney screwed up everything he touched, starting with his failure in a graduate degree once he turned 26 and no longer needed a draft deferment, how as CEO of Halliburton he made a $1.3 billion acquisition that turned out to be a total loss. Can anyone even comprehend how different the world would be today if the Supreme Court hadn't cancelled the Florida vote recount and Al Gore had become President, sparing us the empty suit GW Bush and his attack dog Cheney? Early in their disastrous reign a cartoon in the New Yorker showed a man walking with his small daughter, who asked, "Daddy, who will run the country if something happens to the Vice President?"

"Vice" is an amazing piece of work in all respects, artistically and otherwise. It is also infuriating in its illumination of how Cheney ran Bush the younger's administration. It is a cautionary tale, to be sure.

Cheney on Meet the Press 3/16/03, "...direct verifiable evidence that Iraq and Al-Qaeda worked together in the 9/11 attacks." He was always and still is evil. He is responsible for the deaths and destruction from the Iraq war, the ensuing wars in Syria and Yemen, and the refuge crisis, which has also destabilized the governments of Europe. Scot free and a heart transplant. People need to be reminded.

The transformation of Bale into Cheney was astounding. It won't be long until make-up artists are using the Mission Impossible technology. They will be using 3 D printers to print up peel away rubber masks for the actors to wear.

I highly recommend Vice, especially to people who think they know what really happened back then. It is a stunning movie in many, many ways.

I can not watch Cheney or Bush talk since they have been in power. I just can't. Well, we all don't like Trump but he never (not yet) made a mistake like they did.

Bale’s performance is amazing. The change is startlingly spot on and you can see all the evil on the screen. But what no one mentioned is that the movie’s structure is like a Michael Moore film, which works brilliantly. This means that the politics are explained, but what is shown is Cheney’s almost human love for his family. If you love Cheney the man (hey, it could happen), go because it is a multifaceted portrayal. This is to say that if you live in the Fox bubble, believe the theme of protecting ‘Murica , and you can ignore that close to a million and counting people have died because of the most powerful war criminal produced by the US.

“For many decades it was just monsters and creatures” And now it's both.

I forget when it was they made "Little Big Man." Starring Dustin Hoffman. Who played an old man--a VERY old man--the lone survivor of "Custer's Last Stand." (So-called.) But as I recall, Mr. Hoffman spent hours and hours getting his face doctored. Sponging away that youthful appearance. Carefully crafting the marks of age--the wrinkles and pendulous jowls, the faded eyes. .. and sakes, I'm pushing seventy. This is getting DEPRESSING! Fine movie by the way. But I have not a doubt Mr. Bale has likewise DEVOTED himself--to studying the real live Dick Cheney. His mannerisms. The way he walks. The way he talks. The way he holds his head. His gestures. His everything. And hey! I can't wait to see it. And yes, I'm impressed by the art and skill with which Mr. Bale has been outwardly transformed into Mr. Cheney. But he is still an actor--not the manikin in a department store window. He has to walk--talk--carry on--ensnare Dubya in those webs of cunning (no offense anyone). And here too-- --can't wait to see it. Relive that first decade of the twenty first century. Sigh. 'Cause at least ONE good friend found the film "good but depressing." She has still a warm spot for Mr. Bush--but (viewing "Vice") her reaction was: "How we were DUPED." Well, Mr. Bale. As you TRANSFORM yourself into this eminent vice-president, I'm waiting. Waiting to be duped AGAIN! More power to you!

I mentioned that I was going to see "Vice" and one person asked me to report on it: GO SEE IT. I am quite aware that OUR U.S. Government has been in hostile hands since Nixon and knew Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld played a big part in it's destruction but had no idea how sinister they were - and The Con Don and other Robber Barons are today. The film does not pull any punches and it covers everything in an entertaining, but not funny, way. The film's makers include Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell. Christian Bale is fabulous, as is Steve Carrell and the rest of the stellar cast. GO SEE IT and tell your friends. If you had any doubts as to how much trouble WE THE PEOPLE are in unless we all take action this will convince you.

It's amazing how an actor can be transformed by expert prosthetic design. The very best prosthetic I ever saw was that of J. Edgar Hoover being disguised "undercover" in Woody Allen's "Bananas." The relevant segment is at 1:24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a3mk9sp0oE Actually, my favorite movie prosthetic may have been one of the simplest one... that of Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) in "The Godfather I." Just a bit of make up and a mouth prosthetic to create that classic character.

What is most sad for me is that as motion picture technology has gotten better, the movies have descended into a hell of bad sequels, make overs and Comic Books. A good flick about Deadeye Dick Cheney ought to be a treat. I'll see it on home video.

How could you fail to mention the Dawn of Man sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey?!

Having seen the movie yesterday, I can say that, apart from Christian Bale's spot-on performance, I thought the brilliant make-up/prosthetics led me, early on, to actually believing I was seeing Dick Cheney. Movie-making at its very best.

Just saw Vice. I forgot how corrupt Cheney yet so much more was was revealed. Powerful movie with a brilliant transformation/ performance by Christian Bale. Stay for All of the credits there is one last laugh.

In the movie when the "W" character signs off on handing the "Cheney" character all the power, it reminded me of the Kaicish deal that trump had offered to him via his son: All the domestic and all the foreign. "But," says Kaisich, "that's everything! So, what does trump plan to do?' And trump's son relies with a straight face, "Why, he's going to make America great again." See the movie: trump could not have happened if not for Dick Cheney. Next time, it will be a movie about Mohammed Bin Salman and his bromance with all things trumpian. Wishing us all a better New Year.

I haven't seen the film yet, but I will offer this observation: Art is about creating illusions through acting, not through prosthetics. So what's the difference? Acting allows us to see ourselves in and out of the actor's performance. If you go into the movie or theatre believing that Macbeth or Lear or Cheney is someone other than yourself, you experience nothing--other than a confirmation of your distant self-regard. Real acting shows us, in the drama, characters who have gone wrong or who are confused or helpless or simply evil. Looking at Bale becoming Cheney probably undermines the real art of theatre: which is the illusion where we see ourselves in the play. If you go into the movie or play expecting to see someone you already know, you experience nothing. An actor who is made to look like "Cheney" isn't Cheney. He's the guy you bought with your ticket. And I suppose that's why this flick will make a lot of money.

The. brilliant make-up artist Rick Baker is given short shrift here. His make-up designs transformed Eddie Murphy into a host of vivid characters in Coming to America and again in The Nutty Professor.

I love Christian Bale - my favorite: "The Fighter." I met Cheney at the Smithsonian in 2012 and am shocked at how much Bale resembles him. Uncanny.

I think it is time that we stop accepting people like Dick Chaney, GW Bush, and Rumsfeld as acceptable role models for ourselves and our children. They need to be seen for the cruel criminals and hatemongers who sold our nation out to the highest bidding corporations because that is WHO THEY ARE. I will know, without any doubt, that I was a total and complete failure of a mother if any of my children's names are aligned with any of those 3 or a few others that are renowned only because of their rank failures of achieving any near status of a mensch.

The make up artists greatest challenge lies soon before them when they film the bio of you-know-who and one can bet what colour they will need in wholesale quantities.

Did the prosthetics include cloven hooves?

I am. Disgusted that people are making money from seeing the shenanigans of such a truly evil person... He is in the same league as Trump and far worse. His actions were never funny and his company stole from all of us going into Iraq and Afghanistan. Shame on those who made this... We are boycotting it totally...

I will never watch this film because there's a danger I will destroy the cinema or my television set. I'm 78 years old and this bionic psychopathic freak is still alive - and so many honorable and righteous men have died. I'll be in the vomitorium. The Lord of Montana...

Sorry but why would I want to see a movie about the Antichrist when I lived through the Cheney years as he manipulated the strings of the dumb puppet Bush? Cheney sold out America to enrich himself via Halliburton in the most ill conceived war other than Viet Nam. Cheney is evil.

Wonderful article. I'm 82 and a little prosthetic work would sure help me.

I saw "Vice" last night and wondered aloud if it might win awards for makeup. Excellent job and not just on Bale.

Bradley Cooper played the Elephant Man on Broadway without any prosthetics. He substituted acting. And that is what lies at the heart of what Christian Bale does , so effectively. (The article on the development of the makeup is nonetheless welcome)

I've seen the film and thought it was excellent. It is a political comedy about the tragedy of the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld years. It helped get my mind off Trump for awhile....

The likeness of Cheney is utterly uncanny. And VICE, in my view, was an awesome dichotomy. Christian Bale is one of the purest and most talented actors of our generation. It does not surprise that he is tremendous in this role. I was very hesitant to see this film as I took big issues with W's VP but the movie and script delivered punch upon solar plexus punch. I laughed at times, marveled at others, and jumped clear out of my seat once or twice as well. This makeup, and perhaps our leading man, should collect a few awards this season. It is the finest example of creating the uncanny this year. Mr. Bale certainly wears it well.

I am curious watch "Vice" but really cannot bear such films in the the horror genre.

I would not wish on any one that they become Cheney! This day and age we seem to spend a lot of time on presumably important recent historical figures who are all insignificant, except for the hurt created around them both to individuals and to country.

The primary reason Bale so convincingly became Cheney is that he is a great actor.

The prosthetics are incredible, but the movie could have done with a little attention paid to the writing, too. It basically plays like a liberal screed. Don't get me wrong, I'm in the choir that they were preaching to, but it was very, very thin as entertainment. Frequently funny and anger-provoking, it was nonetheless flat and unenlightening. The director's "The Big Short" is 100 times the movie that this one is.

They gave Bale the same face as Cheney, but I'm left wondering if they removed Bale's heart as part of the portrayal.

I'm glad to see this art get it's due, but a cursory mention of Dick Smith is a travesty to the makeup industry. Almost everyone mentioned was inspired by Mr Smith and the only mention is the Godfather, where the main effect on Brando was via 'dental plumpers (an appliance attached to the actors teeth), not prosthetics. How about Amadeus, for the aging of F Murray Abraham which earned Mr Smith an Oscar? Or Taxi Driver, Exorcist, The Deer Hunter, Altered States, Little Big Man, Holbrook as Lincoln or ay other iconic works of the late genius I can't rattle off the top of my head? Jack Pierce (another pioneer) absolutely used prosthetic to create Frankenstein's Monster makeup on Karloff. While tissue and latex have been used over the years for aging, not to build one of the most famous figures in film history.

The blurb for this story on the homepage says "The Hollywood prosthetics industry has evolved from making monsters to creating startling likenesses." Yes, and in this particular case it has created a startling likeness of a monster.

I'm guessing Christian Bale and Steve Carrell turn in fine performances. But having lived through the George W. Bush presidency as a politically cognizant adult, I could not think of anything less appealing than spending a couple of hours viewing a movie about Cheney and Rumsfeld.

I wanted to see "Vice" yesterday but the times that worked for me were all sold out. I'm not sure why this movie is listed as a comedy. People whose main emphasis is/was comedy may have top billing but it's not comedic material. I'm seeing it today and can hardly wait to see Mr. Bale and Steve Carrell as Cheney and Rumsfeld - the two crooks and war mongers behind the republican party since Nixon. Should be VERY interesting.