Christian Bale
☼ Born on 30 December 1974, in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Biography
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on January 30, 1974, to English parents Jennifer "Jenny" (James) and David Bale. His mother was a circus performer and his father, who was born in South Africa, was a commercial pilot. The family lived in different countries throughout Bale's childhood, including England, Portugal, and the United States. Bale acknowledges the constant change was one of the influences on his career choice.
His first acting job was a cereal commercial in 1983; amazingly, the next year, he debuted on the West End stage in "The Nerd". A role in the 1986 NBC mini-series Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) caught Steven Spielberg's eye, leading to Bale's well-documented role in Empire of the Sun (1987). For the range of emotions he displayed as the star of the war epic, he earned a special award by the National Board of Review for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor.
Adjusting to fame and his difficulties with attention (he thought about quitting acting early on), Bale appeared in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V (1989) and starred as Jim Hawkins in a TV movie version of Treasure Island (1990). Bale worked consistently through the 1990s, acting and singing in Newsies (1992), Swing Kids (1993), Little Women (1994), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), The Secret Agent (1996), Metroland (1997), Velvet Goldmine (1998), All the Little Animals (1998), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999). Toward the end of the decade, with
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the rise of the Internet, Bale found himself becoming one of the most popular online celebrities around, though he, with a couple notable exceptions, maintained a private, tabloid-free mystique.
Bale roared into the next decade with a lead role in American Psycho (2000), director Mary Harron's adaptation of the controversial Bret Easton Ellis novel. In the film, Bale played a murderous Wall Street executive obsessed with his own physicality - a trait for which Bale would become a specialist. Subsequently, the 10th Anniversary issue for "Entertainment Weekly" crowned Bale one of the "Top 8 Most Powerful Cult Figures" of the past decade, citing his cult status on the Internet. EW also called Bale one of the "Most Creative People in Entertainment", and "Premiere" lauded him as one of the "Hottest Leading Men Under 30".
Bale was truly on the Hollywood radar at this time, and he turned in a range of performances in the remake Shaft (2000), Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), the balmy Laurel Canyon (2002), and Reign of Fire (2002), a dragons-and-magic commercial misfire that has its share of defenders.
Two more cult films followed: Equilibrium (2002) and The Machinist (2004), the latter of which gained attention mainly due to Bale's physical transformation - he dropped a reported 60+ pounds for the role of a lathe operator with a secret that causes him to suffer from insomnia for over a year.
Bale's abilities to transform his body and to disappear into a character influenced the decision to cast him in Batman Begins (2005), the first chapter in Christopher Nolan's definitive trilogy that proved a dark-themed narrative could resonate with audiences worldwide. The film also resurrected a character that had been shelved by Warner Bros. after a series of demising returns, capped off by the commercial and critical failure of Batman & Robin (1997). A quiet, personal victory for Bale: he accepted the role after the passing of his father in late 2003, an event that caused him to question whether he would continue performing.
Bale segued into two indie features in the wake of Batman's phenomenal success: The New World (2005) and Harsh Times (2005). He continued working with respected independent directors in 2006's Rescue Dawn (2006), Werner Herzog's feature version of his earlier, Emmy-nominated documentary, Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997). Leading up to the second Batman film, Bale starred in The Prestige (2006), the remake of 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and a reunion with director Todd Haynes in the experimental Bob Dylan biography, I'm Not There (2007).
Anticipation for The Dark Knight (2008) was spun into unexpected heights with the tragic passing of Heath Ledger, whose performance as The Joker became the highlight of the sequel. Bale's graceful statements to the press reminded us of the days of the refined Hollywood star as the second installment exceeded the box-office performance of its predecessor.
Bale's next role was the eyebrow-raising decision to take over the role of John Connor in the Schwarzenegger-less Terminator Salvation (2009), followed by a turn as federal agent Melvin Purvis in Michael Mann's Public Enemies (2009). Both films were hits but not the blockbusters they were expected to be.
For all his acclaim and box-office triumphs, Bale would earn his first Oscar in 2011 in the wake of The Fighter (2010)'s critical and commercial success. Bale earned the Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Dicky Eklund, brother to and trainer of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg. Bale again showed his ability to reshape his body with another gaunt, skeletal transformation.
Bale then turned to another auteur, Yimou Zhang, for the epic The Flowers of War (2011), in which Bale portrayed a priest trapped in the midst of the Rape of Nanking. Bale earned headlines for his attempt to visit with Chinese civil-rights activist Chen Guangcheng, which was blocked by the Chinese government.
Bale capped his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012); in the wake of the Aurora, Colorado tragedy, Bale made a quiet pilgrimage to the state to visit with survivors of the attack that left theatergoers dead and injured. He also starred in the thriller Out of the Furnace (2013) with Crazy Heart (2009) writer/director Scott Cooper, and the drama-comedy American Hustle (2013), reuniting with David O. Russell.
Bale will re-team with The New World (2005) director Terrence Malick for two upcoming projects: Knight of Cups (2015) and an as-yet-untitled drama.
In his personal life, he devotes time to charities including Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Foundation. He lives with his wife, Sibi Blazic, and their two children.
In the role of actor
The Pale Blue Eye (07/01/2023)
A detective enlists the help of a young Edgar Allen Poe to investigate a series of murders in The Pale Blue Eye. In 1830 West Point, New York, retired veteran detective Augustus Landor (Christian Bale) is called to the United States Military Academy, where he is tasked by the superiors Captain Hitchcock (Simon McBurney) and […]
Thor: Love and Thunder (11/07/2022)
The God of Thunder is reunited with his ex-girlfriend to face off against a new threat in Thor: Love and Thunder. After spending some time travelling with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to Earth to protect New Asgard from an attack by Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who ends up […]
Ford v Ferrari (20/11/2019)
The Ford Motor Company sets out to build a racecar that can beat Ferrari in Ford v Ferrari. In 1963, following a failed acquisition attempt, Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) commits himself to build a racecar that can beat Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Vice President Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) hires Carroll […]
Vice (23/01/2019)
Director Adam McKay (The Big Short) directs a satirical biography about former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice. Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) began his political career in 1969, working as an intern in the Nixon administration, working under economic administrator Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell), with Cheney later becoming Chief of Staff for Gerald Ford and Secretary […]
The Dark (24/07/2018)
An undead teenage girl befriends blind boy in The Dark. Mina (Nadia Alexander) is a cannibalistic undead teenager, who haunts an isolated forested area known as the “Devil’s Den.” After dispatching of a fugitive criminal that enters the area, Mina meets the criminal’s blinded hostage Alex (Toby Nichols). Mina decides to help Alex get back to […]
Intent to Destroy (29/04/2017)
Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost) uses the making of the film The Promise as a springboard for a history of the Armenian Genocide in Intent to Destroy. On the hundredth anniversary of the 1915 killing of 1.5 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey), filmmaker Terry George prepares to finally produce a feature film, which he hopes will […]
Knight of Cups (20/03/2016)
A writer searches for love and self in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in Knight of Cups. Rick (Christian Bale) is a screenwriter, who feels an emptiness in his life and has a rough relationships with his brother Barry (Wes Bentley) and father Joseph (Brian Dennehy). Rick has encounters with various women, including ex-wife Nancy (Cate Blanchett) […]
The Big Short (07/01/2016)
A group of financial experts predict the 2008 financial crisis and try to profit off of the collapse of the housing bubble in The Big Short. In 2005, hedge fund manager Michael Burry (Christian Bale) discovers US housing markets is extremely unstable and decides to profit on the inevitable collapse by betting against the housing market […]
American Hustle (15/01/2014)
From director David O. Russell (The Silver Linings Playbook) come this 1970s-set crime comedy, which is the fresh winner of three Golden Globes, including Best Picture Comedy/Musical. Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a New York-based conman, who successfully operates a loan scam operation with his mistress Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams). When the two of them […]
The Dark Knight Rises (21/07/2012)
Aside from the tragedy of last night’s movie theatre shooting, The Dark Knight Rises ended up being a highly enjoyable conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Batman films. The film takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. Gotham City is now relatively crime free and Bruce Wayne has retired the Batman persona and […]
The Fighter (29/12/2010)
With award season coming up, I usually try to see films that are likely to have a high profile come Oscar time. In the case of The Fighter, it is currently tied for the second most nominations at the Golden Globes. The title can be seen as having multiple meanings. The most obvious meaning involves […]
Public Enemies (05/07/2009)
I do have to say that story of John Dillinger is quite an interesting one. I thought that Johnny Depp‘s performance as Dillinger was a good one and I also thought that Christian Bale did an OK job as the FBI agent pursuing him. My major complaint with the film is that the story progressed […]
The Dark Knight (22/07/2008)
Batman Begins set things up, and now The Dark Knight set things into full motion. I could say that I thought it was a very good film and I like the fact that equal screen time was given to both heroes and the villains. Heath Ledger was definitely wonderful as The Joker, however I also […]