Movies Christian Bale said Chris Rock was too funny to be friends with during 'Amsterdam' filming "I went, 'Mate, I love talking to you, and we have mutual friends, but I can't do it anymore.'" By Emlyn Travis Emlyn Travis Emlyn Travis is a news writer at Entertainment Weekly with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News, Teen Vogue, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Paper Magazine, Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022. EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 27, 2022 12:08PM EDT Christian Bale is in the movie business, not the funny business. The actor, who stars in David O. Russell's star-studded new film Amsterdam, recalled meeting his costar Chris Rock on his first day on set and sparking up a fast friendship. One that, ultimately, Bale said needed to be put on pause during filming because Rock was simply too hilarious. "I remember his first day, I was excited to meet him. I'm a big fan of his stand-up," Bale told IndieWire. "Then he arrives, and he's doing some things… David [O. Russell] told him to tell me some stories that I didn't know he was gonna tell me, which is the way David works often. And I was loving it." Christian Bale thought Chris Rock was too funny. Mike Marsland/WireImage; LISA O'CONNOR/AFP via Getty Images The only problem? Like a pair of best pals sitting next to one another in class, Bale soon realized that he needed some distance from Rock in order to actually focus on the film at hand. "Chris is so bloody funny and I found that I couldn't act," he revealed. "Because I was just becoming Christian laughing at Chris Rock." So, Bale staged a mini breakup so that he could fully dedicate his time to the role of Burt Berendsen. "I had to go to him. I went, 'Mate, I love talking to you, and we have mutual friends, but I can't do it anymore,'" he shared. "Because David didn't ask me to make this film so he could just watch me giggle. He wants me to be Burt, and I'm forgetting how to be Burt.'" Merie Weismiller Wallace, SMPSP/20th Century Studios Bale eventually found his footing as Burt in the upcoming comedy, which also stars Rock, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Taylor Swift, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldana, Robert De Niro, and more. He also revealed this isn't the first time he's had to set boundaries between him and his co-stars in order to bring a sense of authenticity to his performance. "I often meet these incredible people, but I isolate myself," he said. "Because if I get to know people too much, I find I just don't believe what I'm doing in the scene." Amsterdam hits theaters Oct. 7. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Related content: From Margot Robbie to Christian Bale, see all the stars at the Amsterdam red carpet premiere Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington lead starry cast in new Amsterdam trailer Taylor Swift joins cast of David O'Russell's new movie Amsterdam