For Christian Bale 'Out Of The Furnace' Was A Welcome Change Of Pace [Trailer + Pictures]

Sometimes movie stars have trouble restarting their career after the role of a lifetime, but such is not the case with Christian Bale. After the end of the tough-to-follow Dark Knight trilogy, Bale has been hard at work and now has two impressive films to show for it – the highly anticipated American Hustle, where he stars opposite Jennifer Lawrence and of course, Out of the Furnace, a gritty tale of blue-collar life in the American Rust Belt.

Apparently it was a perfect match on both sides. Cooper even admits to having written the script with Bale in mind, long before he had had the chance to meet the actor. Also for USA Today, the director explained: "His character is a metaphor for America, and what we've experienced in these last five turbulent years."

According to him, Bale is: "the best actor of my generation…he plays the part with such restraint and subtlety and shading. Very few people can do that."

Out of the Furnace is out today (December 6) in the US and Canada.