I sat down with Batman and talked about my tonsils. Sure, movie star Christian Bale is currently filming “The Dark Knight,” the follow-up to “Batman Begins,” and he might have better things to talk about (and don’t worry, we did) but I had just had mine removed four days before the interview took place at the Four Seasons downtown. “Did they give you toast?” he asked is his usual intense manner, albeit sans his English accent. I responded with a no, telling him that was one of the foods they didn’t want me touching.

“That’s what they do in England,” he said. “Because they want it to scar.” Everything he said just sounded tougher, whether he meant it or not.

Bale is currently starring in “3:10 to Yuma,” a western co-starring Russell Crowe. Bale plays Dan Evans, a reluctant hero who is worn down by life and attempting to get the notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) on the train to Yuma where he will stand trial.

“Every actor I spoke to says you’ve got to do a western,” said Bale. “I never saw glamour (in the role) … It’s a lot of very early mornings and tough work.”

But Bale quickly added, “It’s a very addictive lifestyle.”

When we spoke of his past films such as Steven Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun,” “The Prestige” and “The Machinist” his comments surprised me. The man never goes back and watches his films. He’s happy with his job and leaves it at that.

“I like making (films); I like putting myself in other people’s shoes. I don’t have any aspirations to become more involved than that.”

“For me, every movie is a simplification of life,” he said. “You’re trying to wrap it up in two hours. However complicated you make a character, they’re still simpler than people otherwise it would just be a devastatingly confusing movie.”

Though we didn’t have tons of time since he was taking a break from filming “The Dark Knight,” Bale and I talked about Chicago, his current role as a cowboy, and his accent.

Bayer: What is more fun to play; a cowboy, a superhero or a psycho? Bale: When you put it like that it sounds like all three would be pretty good. People always say movies must be like your babies — you can’t choose between your favorites. I can, I definitely do have favorites. The problem is the three you mentioned there are some of my favorites. I guess it’s this … I probably wouldn’t want to play any other superhero. I would think very carefully about what kind of psycho I would play, but I would make another western without any hesitation.

Bayer: Did you have much experience riding horses? Bale: Not a lot, but I was never fearful. I made sure I was the first person to arrive in New Mexico, went straight down to the ranch and said to Rusty the wrangler, I don’t give a damn what the horse looks like, which is the best horse here? I think a lot of people were thinking in terms of how the horse looks. It doesn’t matter to me, just the best horse. So I got that one straightaway. He was a 25-year-old warhorse, tough as nails, not as big as the others but he ruled the roost. I hardly had to move and he would do it. That was so beneficial for me later on when we were doing close-ups and things. Other people were trying to wrestle with their horses. Mine, I could make him look like he was bucking and then just go still.

Bayer: I think of you as a method actor with the way you dive into a role, for example your performance in “The Machinst” (he lost significant weight to play a man who hasn’t slept in a year). Bale: I don’t have any training, so I don’t consider myself a method actor because that’s a specific type of training. I do whatever I feel is necessary and I like to go the extra mile. For some things it can mean not very much. Research and preparation is all good, sometimes it’s necessary and sometimes it’s just for personal satisfaction. For me, maybe I’ll come across something. It’s just the fun of being a part of the insanity of a lot of grown men and women very seriously pretending to be other people. (It’s) what I enjoy very much. The sort of ridiculous emergence in something that, at the end of the day, is not particularly important. I love that kind of silliness, but don’t view it as silly in the slightest. It’s something that has become important to me, but I realize it’s just important to me not really to anybody else.

Bayer: Anything you’ve fallen in love with in Chicago? Or do you even get a chance to see it? Bale: I do, primarily with my wife and daughter. On most movies, you are working pretty long hours. I’ve been doing a lot of night shoots as well. I know the parks very well in and around Chicago. I know a lot of the places for kids. I’ve only been around here for summer, so I know it’s a whole different thing from being here in wintertime. But I’ve liked in very much.

Bayer: Considering you’ve already done such a variety, is there any genre you’re dying to play? Bale: Nothing springs to mind. I’ll always want to explore something different. I find it kind of tricky, once I’m working on something I tend not to think about what I want to do after. My brain kind of cuts off until I’m finished and then I think, “hmm, what might I want to do next?” I used to do it to such a degree that I refused to read scripts the entire time I was working on a movie, but I’ve managed to relax.

Bayer: Where’s your accent? (Bale is from England and normally has a thick accent.) Are (reporters) too ignorant to handle it? Bale: You said it, not me.

Bayer: Do you go into a mood where it’s no accent for two months? Or is it on and off when you feel like it? Bale: It can go on and off. I sometimes wake up in the morning and it’s something different. I don’t think about it. I’ve lived in the states as long as I’ve lived in England. So, of course, if I’m not working, I’m speaking with my English accent the whole time, but I don’t know, it just kind of helps … and I enjoy kind of playing with people.