Christian Bale "cherry-picked" from previous portrayals of Frankenstein for his role in The Bride!.

The 52-year-old actor plays Mary Shelley's iconic monster in Maggie Gyllenhaal's Gothic romance movie and recalled how he sought inspiration from James Whale's 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein that featured Boris Karloff as the monster, while also adding his own elements to the character.

Quizzed about his process of playing Frankenstein by Collider, Bale said: "It was in recognising that what I wanted it to be was that Frank existed long before Mary Shelley wrote her book, and that there was the interest in science and Galvani, the Italian scientist of reanimation through electricity of muscle and tissue, et cetera, and that she had heard about this person that was out there.

"So, she wrote this book, and she got a lot of it right, but she got a lot wrong, as well. And Frank read that book by now. By the time we come to our story, he's learned how to read, he's learned how to write. But at that point, he was this giant man-child who committed these horrendous crimes and was abandoned by his father, and just didn't understand at all."

The American Psycho star continued: "Then, with the absolute iconic Boris Karloff, whose image you just can't overcome, you've gotta nod to that. For that, witnesses had come back and said, 'Actually, that guy's got a scar that seems to have been stitched up a bit here, and he's got a flat head.'

"And he's right about the scars, but he doesn't have a flat head. That was his hair, you know? 'And he's eight feet tall!' Nah, he's not eight feet tall, because that's just people being terrified and exaggerating. He was six and a half, six-foot-five, something like that.

"So, gradually forming it, cherry-picking what I liked, and then creating that he was a real character, where, with all due respect, Mary Shelley had gotten things wrong, where James Whale and Boris Karloff had gotten things wrong. Frank had to see his life story told in movies and in books, etc., and this is the real one, turning up in 1930s New York."

Jessie Buckley plays the titular character in The Bride! and took inspiration from images for her work in the movie.

The Hamnet actress said: "I find it very helpful to gather images. I don't know who these people are until, really, I live inside them.

"So, I follow my nose instinctively towards what is being reflected back at me, which feels like it's a kind of nod into that world. I will make collages, and some pictures will stay, some will be thrown away. Especially for creating these characters in Mary Shelley, Ida, and The Bride."

The 36-year-old star recalled: "When I got into my trailer in the morning, it was like there was Mary Shelley, and I'd be like, 'Okay, I think I'm in this picture. Maybe there's an essence of this picture in her today.' And similar with Ida and The Bride. I've always found that very useful, too."