Actor Christian Bale went where not many celebrities have before, thanking not God — but Satan — for inspiring him in his latest movie, “Vice,” in which he portrayed former Vice President Dick Cheney.
During Sunday night’s Golden Globes, the 44-year-old star won the award for Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy. When he accepted the prize, he quipped, “Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration for playing this role.”
Christian Bale made sure to thank Satan during his #GoldenGlobes acceptance speech: pic.twitter.com/DU3cq1cKUf
— Vulture (@vulture) January 7, 2019
Bale went on to joke about the film’s director, Adam McKay, whom he said sought out an actor to play the erstwhile Republican vice president who could be “charisma-free and reviled by everybody.”
The well-known English celebrity pondered aloud who he might play next, taking a swipe at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
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“What do you think,” he asked the star-studded audience, “Mitch McConnell next?”
As for his sarcastic credit to the devil, Bale received a nod of approval from the Church of Satan. The church also praised Bale as “the best Batman ever.”
Also, Bale's Dark Knight era Batman is the best Batman ever. pic.twitter.com/RAG8GxaKSy
— The Church Of Satan (@ChurchofSatan) January 7, 2019
While there’s no doubt Bale was joking when he thanked the devil for the assist in his latest project, he is admittedly non-religious.
Several years ago, Bale joked he always pictured Jesus as looking like singer Neil Diamond “with a big white beard, standing in a tunic and preaching to masses of people,” because when his family did go to church, his father would always come back home and play Diamond’s songs.
“My upbringing was not a religious one, but an inquisitive one,” Bale recalled. “My father was best friends with the bishop and fascinated by religion. I would come back from church, and my dad would put on Neil Diamond.”