Christian Bale suffered herniated disc for American Hustle role

Actor Christian Bale suffered a herniated disc after gaining 43 pounds (19.5 kilograms) for his role in American Hustle. The Dark Knight star packed on the pounds to portray overweight conman Irving Rosenfeld in the film, but admits his age has become an obstacle when it comes to gaining and losing weight for roles.
For American Hustle, the actor injured his back by perfecting his character’s hunched posture.
Director David O. Russell tells USA Today, “At one point I said enough already. He lost three inches of height, and even got a herniated disc. He’s a quiet, sweet, smart person with endless passion…”
The weight gain was not all bad for the 40 year old – it helped him land another Academy Award nomination.
Bale is no stranger to changing his weight to suit a role – he famously lost 60 pounds (27.2 kilograms) for 2004’s The Machinist, before packing on muscle for Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and losing it all again for The Fighter, which scored him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2011.