Christian Bale Warns Fans: Meeting Me Will Only Let You Down

Christian Bale hit The Bride! red carpet and delivered a PSA with a wink: if you love his movies, keep it that way. He was asked whether he ever tries to play it cool around other celebrities, and his answer doubled as advice for everyone eager to meet their big-screen heroes.

'Please, do not meet your heroes'

Bale said he does not bother with the cool act and actively avoids meeting the actors he admires in real life. Why? Because the fantasy rarely survives the handshake. As he put it:

'I see it in people's eyes when they've watched my movies and loved them, and then they meet me, and I see their eyes, that terrible disappointment about who I really am. And it's true, what a disappointment. That's me at my best in the movie.'

Self-deprecation is a Bale specialty, and he kept it rolling with a little grace note for anyone putting stars on pedestals:

'They're heroic in what they do. But you know, give them a break. Nobody can be a hero all the time.'

Translation: enjoy the performance, spare yourself the reality.

What The Bride! is actually about

• Setting: 1930s Chicago, dressed up as a Gothic romance.
• Premise: Frankenstein's monster asks scientist Dr. Euphronious to create him a companion. The doctor obliges by resurrecting a murdered woman as "The Bride," which kicks off a mess of consequences, legal heat, and, yes, an unexpected romance.
• Cast: Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penelope Cruz, among others.

So Bale is out here preemptively lowering expectations for any run-ins, while starring in a movie built on a very dangerous meet-cute. The irony writes itself.