Christian Bale spoke secret language on The Fighter set

Christian Bale spoke a secret language on the set of 'The Fighter'.

The 36-year-old actor portrays former drug addicted boxer Dicky Eklund in the new movie and says they spent so much time together working on the role he learnt the former sportsman's own unique way of communicating, much to the bemusement of his co-stars, including Mark Wahlberg.

He said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "Wherever Dicky goes, he's like the mayor of the streets. He's one of the funniest guys I've ever come across.

"He's got his own language he calls Dickinese, where he has different words for everything. I learned the whole thing so we could communicate.

"It was great because Dicky and I could talk on the set and nobody would have any idea what we were saying."

Christian loved spending time with Dicky - who went on to train his half-brother Micky Ward after his own boxing career ended - because he has so much energy, but admits he would have found his lifestyle hard to cope with.

The Hollywood star - who lost almost 30lbs for the role - added: "You hang out with Dicky and the most crazy stuff becomes normal. He's someone who's gone way over the edge, he's come back laughing and there's a real kind of buoyancy about him all the time.

"He had extreme ups and downs and was so naturally gifted that he was able to go drinking all night and then jump in the ring in the morning. But that catches up with you after a while, and it was hard for him to fulfil his potential."