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Newsies fans, don’t expect to see Christian Bale in another musical anytime soon. During a recent interview in promotion for The Bride!, the actor told Buzzfeed UK that he doesn’t see himself appearing in any more musical projects.
“I don’t think I’ll ever step foot in a musical again in my life,” said the actor. “Of course, never say never, but almost never say never on this one.” The comment was made in response to a comparison between the musical components of the new film and those of Newsies, the 1992 movie musical that starred Bale.
In the Bride!, Bale’s character “Frank” frequents a local cinema to watch movie musicals on the big screen, especially those featuring his favorite movie star, Ronnie Reed, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the movie does feature some big-scale song-and-dance numbers, but Bale clarified an important distinction.
“[There’s a] big difference. Newsies is a musical. This is not a musical,” he said of The Bride! “This is something where it’s just a ridiculously energetic expression, with possession, which you’ll understand, when you watch the whole movie, but it ain’t no musical at all…”
He went on to describe the scene in question as “a wonderful moment,” calling it “a spontaneous dance of protest that leads into serious protest as serious consequences.” Watch a clip from the new movie here, featuring Gyllenhaal singing and dancing in one of the in-universe movies as seen by Bale.
In The Bride!, Bale plays a lonely Frankenstein-like figure who travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious (five-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening) for a companion. The two revive a murdered young woman, and The Bride (Olivier and Golden Globe winner Jessie Buckley) is born. The film is now playing in theaters.
Directed by Kenny Ortega, Newsies was released in 1992 and starred Bale, Robert Duvall, Bill Pullman, Ann-Margret, and David Moscow. Released by Disney with songs by Alan Menken, the movie was later adapted as a stage musical, winning two Tony Awards.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
