Into it: Christian Bale

... Reading?

I just started reading The Outsider by Colin Wilson. It was written, I believe, in the 1950s when he was in his early 20s, and he was kind of lauded as being the next great voice of his generation. It's the viewpoint of the outsider in society, and his ideas on that. I read a review of it last year while in an airport, ripped it out, made a note of it, and just found it recently.

I've been listening to a whole lot of Bob Dylan of late [for a role in an upcoming film about Dylan's life and work]. Round and round the clock. I very much like his Christian-era albums, like "Slow Train Coming" and "Saved." I was not, to be honest, a Dylan fan. I didn't own a single album, purely because he was a musician who has always been thought to be important, and it ruins any enjoyment when you're told somebody's important. I was born in 1974, so The Beatles were the same for me. I didn't want to listen to them because everybody said I should.

I haven't watched a movie all the way through for quite awhile. I really am eclectic in what I like. It depends on what time of day it is. I like Todd Haynes, I like Werner Herzog, Terrence Malick. Those happen to be directors I've recently worked with, so I've been watching their movies, but I can also enjoy something like Beverly Hills Ninja.

• Christian Bale's latest movie, "The Prestige," a story about two adversarial magicians in the 19th century, is in theaters. His new film, "Harsh Times," in which he plays a Gulf War veteran on the loose in the underbelly of Los Angeles, is released Friday.