No fat suits involved, the 43-year-old star is all method when it comes to transforming his body for a role.
New pictures from Adam McKay’s Backseat set show Bale looking particularly chunky as a younger Cheney.
The close up in a casual shirt is particularly hard to make out its the former Batman who sported a six pack just a few years ago.
The snaps follows Bale’s appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where the star shocked fans on the red carpet with his new look.
When asked by reporters at the event how he did it, he replied: “I’ve just been eating a lot of pies.”
The star’s Dick Cheney will be joined by Sam Rockwell as President George W Bush, but from the pictures it looks like the movie will cover the former Vice President in his earlier years too.
Cheney had a varied career as a Republican politician, from being a member of the House of Representatives and Defence Secretary to George H W Bush to White House Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford.
Bale previously gained weight for his role in Oscar-winning movie, American Hustle, in which he played a con artist.
Earlier this year Matthew McConaughey spoke out on his weight gain for Gold, something he really enjoyed doing.
The star said: “I’ve had roles where I’ve lost a lot of weight, but for this one got to gain a lot of weight. Gaining is much more fun!”