After watching “Eastern Promises” twice, I’m totally convinced Viggo Mortensen is the new Daniel Day-Lewis when it comes to character preparation.  Daniel Day-Lewis reportedly would not remove his fur coat when he got sick on the set of “Gangs of New York” because the clothes offered to him weren’t available during the time period in which the movie takes place.  I think Christian Bale is also in the same category, and I think it’s important to show how dedicated Mortensen and Bale really are to their craft.
           

Bale prepared doggedly with gym and martial arts training to do “Batman Begins,” although he reportedly hates working out. He did this after dropping 60 pounds off his 180 pound frame to do 2004’s “The Machinist.” He looks like a skeleton in that movie, and you fear for him on appearance alone. 

In 2000, he worked out to portray the ridiculously chic and fit Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho.” Bale always seems to throw himself wholly into his roles, which makes his performances consistently enjoyable. He also keeps his character accents for media interviews while working on a film. “The Prestige” is one example of a movie in which Bale uses his actual voice.
           

Mortensen, mostly known as Aragorn from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, was, apparently, referred to by character name for an entire half-hour by director Peter Jackson while filming. He didn’t realize he wasn’t responding as himself.

The tattoos he sported in “Eastern Promises” looked so real and his appearance was so accurate that, when he went to a local Russian restaurant, he reportedly scared a couple who thought he was a real Russian gangster until he explained he was an actor.

While Bale brings a high level of emotional intensity to his roles, I think Mortensen brings the more subtle type.  In “Eastern Promises,” if you take one look at him, you know he is NOT the guy you want to mess with. He is able to tell you who he is in one good look.