‘Out of the Furnace’: Christian Bale on not calling ‘action’

As an experienced actor himself, “Out of the Furnace” director Scott Cooper is attuned to creating an environment where his cast can thrive.

At a recent installment of the Envelope Screening Series, Cooper said it’s critical for directors “to create a very, very safe environment for actors to take risks … because that’s where you find the most magical moments. Because if you feel like you can’t take those risks and you can’t trust the director, then you won’t go to those places that are going to surprise the audience.”

For leading man Christian Bale, who plays Russell Baze, a blue-collar worker who risks everything to bail out his troubled war veteran brother, Cooper’s approach proved fruitful. “You don’t feel like you have to plan something,” Bale said. “You just sort of see what happens and figure it out as you go.”

VIDEO: Watch the cast, crew of ‘Out of the Furnace’ discuss the film

One technique Bale and Cooper developed was not calling “action” at the start of scenes. Instead, Cooper would discreetly let the actors know the cameras were rolling, and they could begin whenever they felt ready.

“When I hear ‘action,’” Bale said, “I feel like I’ve got to do something, you know? It feels like, ‘You’d better act. You’d better do something really spectacular and entertaining,’ instead of just … existing as the character.”

While Bale felt that the technique “makes such a bloody difference, it really does,” it made less of an impression on costars Casey Affleck and Zoe Saldana. Asked by Bale if they recalled Cooper not calling action, both went momentarily blank.

“I mean I agree 100% with what you’re saying,” Affleck said, “but I don’t remember it.”

“I remember [Cooper] spoke very softly,” Saldana added.

Undaunted, Bale replied, “I remember Woody [Harrelson] beginning, and he was going, ‘Why doesn’t anyone … say ‘action’ around here?’”

For more from the cast and crew of “Out of the Furnace,” watch the video above and check back for daily highlights.

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