The Dick Knight: Christian Bale in talks to play Vice President Cheney in new biopic that would reteam actor with Amy Adams as politician's wife Lynne

  • Christian Bale, 43, is in talks to star as Vice President Dick Cheney, 76, in a biopic that would start shooting next year 
  • The film would take a look at Cheney's meteoric rise through the American political system during his four decades in office 
  • Bale would be reuniting with his 'American Hustle' and 'The Fighter' costar Amy Adams, who is in talks to play Lynne Cheney
  • Steve Carell is in talks to play Cheney's closest political pal Donald Rumefeld in the picture, which will be written and directed by Oscar-winner Adam McKay 
  • Cheney was appointed chief of staff in President Ford's administration when he was just 33, and had his first of five heart attacks at the age of 37
  • He became vice president in 2001 and accidentally shot a man in the face while in office before exiting with a final approval rating of 13 percent 

Christian Bale is set to take on the role of yet another controversial figure in his latest film, with a new report claiming that the actor is in talks to play former vice president Dick Cheney.

The untitled biopic is scheduled to go into production early next year and will be written and directed by Adam McKay, whose most recent film 'The Big Short' earned Bale his third Oscar nomination. 

Deadline reports that McKay has been working hard to get the Welsh-born Bale, 43, to sign on to the production, believing he is the perfect pick to the play the polarizing politician and millionaire businessman

Many consider Cheney, 76, to be the most powerful vice president in United States history, though he was also sadly the least popular.

Cheney, who accidentally shot a man in the face while serving as vice president, left office in 2009 with a final approval rating of 13 percent according to a CBS News/New York Times poll - the lowest on record.

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Lynne and Dick Cheney
Amy Adams and Christian Bale

Back in character: Christian Bale is in talks to star as Vice President Dick Cheney in a biopic that would start shooting next year (Dick and Lynne Cheney in 1980 left; Bale and Amy Adams on the set of American Hustle) 

Home on the range: The film would take a look at Cheney's meteoric rise through the American political system during his four decades in office (Dick and Lynne Chenney above at the inauguration)

Home on the range: The film would take a look at Cheney's meteoric rise through the American political system during his four decades in office (Dick and Lynne Chenney above at the inauguration)

Star power: Bale would be reuniting with his 'American Hustle' and 'The Fighter' costar Amy Adams, who is in talks to play Lynne Cheney (Bale and Adams above in 2011)

Star power: Bale would be reuniting with his 'American Hustle' and 'The Fighter' costar Amy Adams, who is in talks to play Lynne Cheney (Bale and Adams above in 2011)

Producers are also in talks with Amy Adams and Steve Carell, who they are pursuing for the roles of Lynne Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

This would mark the third time that Bale and Adams have teamed up together, having previously starred alongside one another in 'American Hustle' and 'The Fighter.'

The latter film earned Bale an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

It would also be a reunion for Bale, Carell and McKay, who all worked together on The Big Short.

McKay picked up an Oscar for that film thanks to his screenplay about the 2008 financial collapse which he adopted from Michael Lewis' bestselling book.

The writer and director said he has been spending an immense amount of time studying Cheney and looking into the life of the very private and tight-lipped politician.

'I’ve always found Cheney fascinating,' said McKay in an interview last year. 

'Questions of what drove him, what his beliefs were; but once we started digging I was astounded at how much he had shaped modern America’s place in the world and how shocking the methods were by which he gained his power.'

Steve Carell

Serious faces: Steve Carell (right) is in talks to play Cheney's closest political pal Donald Rumsefeld (left in 1974) in the picture

The A-team: The biopic will be written and directed by Oscar-winner Adam McKay (second right with Bale, Ryan Gosling and Carell after an awards show for 'The Big Short')

The A-team: The biopic will be written and directed by Oscar-winner Adam McKay (second right with Bale, Ryan Gosling and Carell after an awards show for 'The Big Short')

Cheney began his career in politics immediately after receiving his master's degree from the University of Wyoming and by the age of 33 he was the White House Chief of Staff for president Gerald Ford.

It was there Cheney became close friends with Rumsfeld, who was serving as Secretary of Defense.

Cheney got the Chief of Staff position when Rumsfeld was moved out of that post to run the defense department.

Cheney also worked in the Nixon and Reagan administrations as well, and was appointed Secretary of Defense by George H.W. Bush when he took office.

Cheney took an eight year break from the White House in 1993 when Bill Clinton was elected, but returned in 2001 when he became the 46th vice president of the United States.

It was during that break between White House jobs when Cheney took a position at the controversial oil company Halliburton. 

Lots of stories: Cheney was appointed chief of staff in President Ford's administration when he was just 33, and had his first of five heart attacks at the age of 37 (above in 1975 after being appointed as Chief of Staff)

Lots of stories: Cheney was appointed chief of staff in President Ford's administration when he was just 33, and had his first of five heart attacks at the age of 37 (above in 1975 after being appointed as Chief of Staff)

Bale in American Psycho
Bale in The Machinist

Bod squad: Bale is a master at transforming his body for films, bulking up for 'American Psycho' (left) in 2000 and disappearing in 2004 for 'The Machinist' (right)

Lynne meanwhile is an author who focused on raising the couple's two children, Liz and Mary. 

Their younger daughter Mary is a lesbian who has been with her partner Heather Poe for over two decades.

That is why Cheney famously distanced himself from his former boss George W. Bush when he called for an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage during his first term.

All this action came at a high cost to Cheney's health however, which was not helped by his 20-year habit of smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. 

He had his first of five heart attacks at the age of 37 in 1978, with the other four coming in 1984, 1988, 2000, and 2010.

In 2012, he had a heart transplant that the doctor said could keep him alive for another 10 years. 

Bale meanwhile spent his earlier years struggling through the Japanese occupation during the second World War ('Emperor of the Sun') and then singing and selling newspapers on the streets of New York City ('Newsies') before going on to become an American psycho ('American Psycho,' 'Batman Begins,' 'The Dark Knight,' The Dark Kinght Rises,' 'Terminator Salvation').

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