Christian Bale Once Said He Felt Very Possessive Over Winona Ryder and His ‘Little Women’ Co-Stars
Christian Bale starred in the 1994 film Little Women during his rise to mega stardom. The movie starred a predominantly female cast, which Bale once quipped he felt a male possessiveness over.
Why Christian Bale said he felt very possessive on the set of ‘Little Women’
Little Women was a 1994 film adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel of the same name. The movie featured an ensemble cast that included the film’s star Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, and Susan Sarandon. Bale was soon cast as Ryder’s neighbor and potential love interest in the feature.
A much younger Bale first became vaguely aware of the project after a meeting with the film’s director Gillian Armstrong. But at the time of the meeting, Bale confided that he understood very little about the details of Armstrong’s movie.
“First night in Vancouver–it was summertime, the snow was entirely fake–Gillian and I got out for a drink together, and she mentioned a film of hers, I can’t remember what it was, and I looked at her like, ‘I don’t have a f***ing clue what what you’re talking about,” Bale said in a 1997 interview with Movieline.
Bale didn’t know too much about the film’s source material, either. However, he would later find himself cast in the film, where he delivered one of his many critically acclaimed performances. He also quipped that, given the majority of his castmates were women, he was extremely possessive over his co-workers. So much so that he didn’t appreciate it when another male actor was cast in the feature.
“Mostly, though, I was very possessive on the set of the film. You’ve got Winona, Trini Alvarado, Samantha Mathis, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, Gillian–I was experiencing an incredible male possessiveness,” Bale said. “I’d been there a month, and I sort of resented when Eric Stoltz arrived. I’ll tell you, I’m in the right profession. I have a jones for actresses. You establish intimacy so easily.”
‘Little Women’ director Gillian Armstrong once commented on the bond between Christian Bale and Winona Ryder
Armstrong confided that Ryder and the Batman Begins star developed a close relationship with each other on the set of Little Women. It wasn’t too dissimilar to the bond that their characters shared in the romantic drama. Except unlike their on-screen counterparts, Armstrong was pretty sure Bale and Ryder kept their relationship platonic.
“I think [Winona Ryder] said, ‘We were like brother and sister, but there was no romance.’ Winona was up there with her boyfriend at the time; she and Christian were buddies. But no, there were no romances — that I know of,” Armstrong recalled to Vulture.
Still, Armstrong believed that the two kissing each other in the movie was perhaps the most uncomfortable moment both experienced.
“Considering their ages, and considering that they were buddies, probably the most awkward scene [for the two of them] would’ve been the kissing scene. I don’t think Christian had kissed too many people onscreen before. It was a genuine blush from Christian,” Armstrong said.
Christian Bale met his wife thanks to Winona Ryder
Bale’s newfound friendship with Ryder at the time ended up affecting Bale’s personal life in a touching way. It was Ryder who eventually led him to his wife Sibi Blazic. Blazic was Ryder’s personal assistant when Ryder introduced the two to each other. After their meeting, Blazic and Bale have enjoyed a long relationship and marriage that lasts to this day.
Blazic has also been a huge source of support for Bale’s career. This was especially important to Bale, who spent much of his time being a variety of different movie characters.
“I get choked up about that stuff,” Bale once said at the 2011 Critics’ Choice Awards (via Yahoo). “[My wife] had to be married to so many different characters over our marriage. I know that it truly would be impossible to do it without her. She’s such a good, strong woman.”
