Christian Bale talks in Fighter code

The film tells the real-life story of boxer ‘Irish’ Micky Ward who goes on to win a world junior welterweight title after being trained by his half brother Dicky Eklund. Christian plays Dicky, a drug addict who serves time in jail for robbery before going on to help his brother become a champion.

Christian spent a great deal of time with Dicky when he was preparing for the role. He was keen to learn his mannerisms and speaking voice, and went to such great lengths to understand him he even mastered Dicky’s unique way of talking.

“He’s larger than life. He took me around to the crack houses he used to use and the jail he spent time in and wherever he goes he’s like the mayor of the streets,” he explained in an interview with British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. “The guy is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever come across. He’s got his own language he calls Dickinese where he has different words for everything. I learned the whole thing so that we could communicate. It was great because Dicky and I could talk on the set and nobody would have any idea what the two of us were saying.”

Christian has developed a reputation for being difficult on movie sets after he was caught on camera unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade at a cinematographer for crossing his line of sight during a scene on the set of Termination Salvation. The star has also made no secret of his dislike for being interviewed, but insists he has no regrets about his reluctance to discuss his personal life. The 36-year-old star feels uncomfortable discussing himself and would rather focus on his career and the characters he so expertly portrays.

“I want to talk but I try not to show too much of myself. I always figure hey, look, I’m not a rock star, I’m an actor. I’m somebody who’s meant to be other people and I’m not meant to be here representing myself,” he explained. “I’m happier when I’m presenting myself as other characters. When I’m giving interviews I tend to not want to give too much away because I like the focus to be on the character.”