 Christian Bale as Alfred Borden ( The Professor ) / Fallon , a working class magician . Christian Bale expressed interest in playing the part , and was cast after Jackman . Although Nolan had previously cast Bale as Batman in Batman Begins , he did not consider Bale for the part of Borden until Bale contacted him about the script . Nolan said that Bale was " exactly right " for the part of Borden , and that it was " unthinkable " for anyone else to play the part . Nolan described Bale as " terrific to work with " , who " takes what he does very , very seriously " . Nolan suggested that the actors should not read the book , but Bale ignored his advice . 
