Christian Bale’s drastic transformation into Dick Cheney takes center stage in the first trailer for “Vice,” released Wednesday.
The biopic, directed by Adam McKay, chronicles Cheney’s life as the former vice president under President George W. Bush. Starting with his beginnings as a Washington bureaucrat, the film explores Cheney’s service under the Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush administrations and as the CEO of energy management company Halliburton.
To play Cheney, Bale had to shave his head, bleach his eyebrows, and put on 40 pounds — but that’s nothing new for the Oscar winner, who is known for undergoing intense transformations, like losing 60 pounds for 2004’s “The Machinist,” only to gain it back in muscle to play Batman in 2005’s “Batman Begins.”
Amy Adams co-stars as Lynne Cheney, accompanying a star-studded cast that includes Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, and Jesse Plemons.
Will Ferrell and Kevin Messick from McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions serve as the show’s producers, along with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner from Pitt’s Plan B.
Annapurna Pictures has scheduled the film’s wide theatrical release for Christmas Day.