Thirstory: Christian Bale Hits Club Quarantine

Welcome to Thirstory, where we whet your appetite with pages from the Interview archives that were almost too hot to print. This week, we resurface Christian Bale’s February 1998 feature, photographed by Bruce Weber. 

In the age of social-distancing, each morning is like waking up on Groundhog Day. But instead of springtime prophecies, the forecast predicts six more weeks of isolation and a strong chance of your friends posting beauty regimens that no one asked for. 

Nowadays, every other post on social media recalls the opening sequence of American Psycho, where the film’s protagonist Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale, describes in vivid detail his morning routine. Stomach crunches are followed by a shower, two cleansing washes, a body scrub, and an herb-mint facial mask. Next, Bateman applies two moisturizers and an anti-aging eye balm that are followed by an aftershave with little to no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Duh. 

While Bale as Bateman physically resembles everything I aspire to be, I am simply not there. Working from home, I feel more like the actor as he appeared in Interview’s February 1998 issue: half-dressed, hair amiss, and on the cusp of delirium. Perched on a trashcan, Bale speaks to every one of us in isolation—hungover from drinking too many cans of White Claw and dragging a cigarette to take the edge off an all-night bender at Club Quarantine.