Christian Bale recalls being cussed by Dick Cheney over 'Vice' performance

Christian Bale may have received a best actor Oscar nomination for his lifelike portrayal of Dick Cheney in "Vice", but the Hollywood star says the former US vice president wasn't happy with the performance.

Bale starred in the Adam McKay's 2018 political drama, a part for which he famously gained over 40 pounds.

"The Dark Knight" star has revealed Cheney used a secondary channel to express his distaste for the film.

"Strangely enough it was through my son's school," Bale, 45, remembered.

"One of the moms was at a party that (Cheney) was at, and she said, 'Oh, I'm going to be seeing Christian tomorrow, you have anything to say to him?' And he said, 'Tell him he's a d**k," the actor told Yahoo! Entertainment.

Bale said he thought at least Cheney had "a sense of humour".

"And she said, 'No, there was no humour to it whatsoever'," he added.

The actor won his maiden Golden Globe for best actor in a drama for "Vice".

In his acceptance speech, he thanked Satan for inspiring him to essay the role and McKay for casting him to play someone who was "absolutely charisma-free and reviled by everybody".