Christian Bale: 'Bruce Wayne must face the pain in Dark Knight Rises'

Published Nov 24 2011, 16:36 GMT  |  By Tara Fowler

Christian Bale has opened up about his role as Bruce Wayne and Batman in The Dark Knight Rises.

While at a press junket for his upcoming film The Flowers of War, the 37-year-old revealed that his character will have to learn to deal with the pain in his life instead of running away from it, Comic Book Movie reports.

"How long will you let the pain and loss define your life? Walking around chasing bad guys is very heroic and attracts attention, but at the end all it accounts for [is] a means to deal with the pain of a huge loss," Bale said.

"We agreed that Bruce Wayne is absolutely sincere as Bruce Wayne, and as Batman utterly sincere," he continued. "But Bruce Wayne, the playboy, is a pure facade, it's a lie he has, somehow, to control one side of your soul that's not really under control.

"In fact, only Alfred knows who he is. It's time for Bruce Wayne to face the pain that has always stirred his life."

The actor went on to say that he will miss playing the superhero.

"It's like saying goodbye to an old friend," Bale said. "When you have the opportunity to be a character so many times, you develop another relationship with him, a more profound one."

Director Christopher Nolan recently described the final instalment of the franchise as "really all about finishing Batman and Bruce Wayne's story".

Tom Hardy, who plays the villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, recently explained that his character is a terrorist who will not hesitate to murder innocent people.

The Dark Knight Rises is out on July 20, 2012.

Watch the Dark Knight Rises teaser trailer below: