Just this morning, actor Christian Bale got into character shadow boxing Dicky Eklund on the streets of the Highlands section of Lowell. Bale, who recently played Bruce Wayne in the blockbuster the Dark Knight, will portray the fallen Lowell boxer in the feature film The Fighter.

The half-brother and trainer of Lowell's own "Irish" Micky Ward, played tour guide to Bale, director David O. Russell, HBO documentary High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell producer Rich Farrell and other crew members. The group bobbed and weaved up and down streets in the Highlands making stops at the former Highland Tap and Captain John's both in Cupples Square, Eklund's modest brick home on Wilder Street and Ramos Package Store on Branch Street. They also took pictures outside of a few tenement style homes on Smith Street, Westford Street and Shaw Street. At one point, Eklund, Bale and Russell began pretending to jump rope -- a technique many boxers use to build endurance while training.

Just yesterday, actor Mark Wahlberg was spotted in the lobby of the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Lowell meeting with Eklund and other movie crew members. The group was discussing a half dozen or so possible locations to film scenes for the Ward biopic. Wahlberg will play Ward in what is said to be his passion project. The movie will chronicle Ward's boxing career from the gritty streets of Lowell and rocky relationship with his half-brother and trainer. Eklund once stepped in the ring with Sugar Ray Leonard before he lost his fight with addiction.

Filming is set to start in Lowell this July and will take several weeks.

For more photos including Christian Bale in Lowell, see tomorrow's Sun.