Christian Bale on chasing Johnny Depp's John Dillinger and laying down the law in 'Public Enemies'

Christian Bale

Christian Bale has made a career out of playing stoic and intense characters on the big screen. They’re usually heroes who are often conflicted, but deep down they have a good heart and a strong sense of their own moral code. In "Public Enemies" (directed by Michael Mann), Bale plays such a character: Melvin Purvis, the real-life Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who made it his life’s mission to stop notorious bank robber John Dillinger (played by Johnny Depp) and Dillinger’s gang of cohorts in the early 1930s. Under the guidance of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (played by Billy Crudup), Purvis led the manhunt for Dillinger and other criminals dubbed "public enemies" — and Purvis soldiered on, even when faced with the humiliation of Dillinger and his gang members eluding the law and escaping from prison.

Bale says he can relate to Purvis’ persistent nature while being under pressure, as well as the feeling of being misunderstood when having good intentions. The role suits Bale perfectly, since he’s known to take a serious and intellectual approach to his work — much like the real-like Purvis. While filming "Public Enemies" and at the movie’s press junket in Chicago, Bale opened up about how Dillinger and Purvis were similar, why he thinks Purvis became a successful law enforcer who set crime-busting records, and what it was like to visit Purvis’ grave.

Melvin Purvis isn’t as well-known as John Dillinger. For people today who are unfamiliar with Melvin Purvis, why should they consider Purvis an important historical figure?

To this day, he is the agent who is responsible for catching the most public enemies. That record still has not been broken. And I think the media couldn’t get enough of him. And Purvis was always consistent in not wishing to take praise solely for himself. He always said it was an agency-wide success and he would always congratulate [J. Edgar] Hoover, who was very much Melvin’s mentor and inspiration. But regardless, the media loved Melvin.

Christian Bale in "Public Enemies"

Can you talk about that great scene in "Public Enemies" when John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis meet face-to-face?

There’s a scene where Purvis does meet with Dillinger and is talking to him, rather, listening to him more. And Dillinger seems to have a great insight into who Purvis is and almost gives him a kind of a warning that this is not for him. That if he’s going to be able to catch him, he’s going to have to get his hands dirty in a way that he can see and Melvin is not going to be happy with.

Melvin gives nothing away right there, but he was really quite — as we portray in the movie — shaken by that. That this man [Dillinger] was erudite and thoughtful and was able to tell [Purvis] something about himself — which was shocking, because maybe it was true.

Christian Bale in "Public Enemies"

What did you get out of filming at a lot of the real-life locations instead of filming those scenes elsewhere?

When you use the real location, you get a kind of reverence for it, standing in the same spot. Knowing, being in those woods, just sitting silently for a while, knowing that the man you are portraying sat in this very spot and was actually fired upon and fired back. I think it’s incredibly helpful.

How would you explain John Dillinger’s incredible popularity with the public?

With Dillinger, I feel like with the Dust Bowl and so many people in poverty, the extreme feeling of "us and them, have and have-nots," the fat cats, the banks — so many people were resentful and had had their lives ruined, that hearing about a man who was actually taking it back for himself, they couldn’t help but idolize him.

Christian Bale and Billy Crudup in "Public Enemies"

You visited Melvin Purvis’ grave in Florence, South Carolina. What was that experience like?

One of the things that I think was charming about Purvis, some of the press would call him "Nervous Purvis," but it was only because he was so candid that he would admit to becoming fearful at times. And when I went down to Florence and met with Alston [Melvin Purvis’ son], he took me to the cemetery. And on the gravestone, it’s written in Latin with the translation, "I was often afraid, but never ran," which I thought was a wonderful caption for him, because he did find himself in so many dangerous situations.

What would you say is the biggest appeal to "Public Enemies"?

It’s cops and robbers, in essence. There’s a huge attraction to that — and that is what was so entertaining about that era and why it continues to be so fascinating. And the notion of what people could get away with at that time: If you just had the stones to try, you really could get away with it at that time — things in this era that are just not possible.

Christian Bale (center) in "Public Enemies"

What do you think was the secret to Melvin Purvis’ success?

He was very popular with his men. He treated his men incredibly well. He was a very good leader. He had a great vision. He had great integrity. He was very capable at what he did. He had grown up hunting, coming from the country. And he was able to achieve extraordinary success at a very young age. I just think he had an inner integrity, which unfortunately, he felt was compromised ultimately during his time in the bureau and resulted in him quitting.

Hoover was a brilliant visionary and his vision came to create the excellent organization we have nowadays [the Federal Bureau of Investigation], but this is the birthing pains we’re seeing at this point [in the "Public Enemies" movie]. And in order to achieve short-term success, he requested of his men actions which Purvis certainly felt were morally abhorrent to his nature. So in spite of his incredible success, I think he felt he paid too high of a price, and that’s why he quit the bureau so soon after taking Dillinger down.

Christian Bale in "Public Enemies"

Melvin Purvis' nickname was Little Mel. He has also been described as the Clark Gable of the bureau. Can you elaborate on that?

That’s what he was called at the time. And Dick Tracy was based on Melvin Purvis as well. He just cut a very dashing figure, compared to most agents of the day. He was very dapper, he wore the finest suits, he drove the finest car. He rode horses in the English riding style. He was a real gent.

You’ve said in an interview that there was a similarity between Melvin Purvis and John Dillinger. What exactly did you mean by that?

All I mean in that is the press’ fascination with the two of them. The press really put the both of them on the front of so many newspapers. This was actually something Dillinger enjoyed a great deal. He was wonderful at marketing himself. Purvis, however, was very uncomfortable with that and always tried to credit the agency as a whole and Hoover for his success.

Christian Bale and Michael Mann on the set of "Public Enemies"

You’re known to be a very detailed-oriented actor. Michael Mann is known to be a very detail-oriented filmmaker. How was it working with him on "Public Enemies"?

It’s a wonderful experience working with Michael. He’s a fascinating man and one of the finest filmmakers around. He approaches every movie like an investigation. He’d make a great detective, He has an encyclopedic knowledge about each and every subject that he tells a story abut. He’s very thorough, incredibly articulate and very savvy. It’s very satisfying to work with such a man.

What was training with those guns like?

That was enjoyable. The guns were fairly simple to handle, and Purvis was very, very capable with weapons.

Photo credits: Universal Pictures