Christian Bale

Early Years

Christian Charles Philip Bale was born January 30, 1974 in Wales, and is the youngest of four children. Bale’s father, David was a commercial pilot, entrepreneur and talent manager, while his mother Jenny James, was a performer and circus clown. The Bale family moved during Christian’s childhood and lived in the UK, Portugal and the United States. Bale learned ballet and guitar while he was a child, but took an interest in acting at a young age.

Christian Bale’s early acting jobs included commercial work for Downy fabric softener in 1982 (he was eight) and a Pac-Man cereal commercial in 1983. In 1984, he appeared on stage in The Nerd, opposite Rowan Atkinson.

Early Film Career

While Bale debuted in the made-for-television film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna in 1986, the miniseries Heart of the Country, and Mio in the Land of Faraway in 1987, it was his starring role in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film Empire of the Sun that gained him plenty of attention at age 13.

Amy Irving, who co-starred with Bale in Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna recommended him to her husband at the time, Steven Spielberg. Bale nailed the role as Jim Graham in Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, receiving the award for “Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor” from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. The award was created just for him.

Other early film roles include:

• Henry V (1989)
• Newsies (1992)
• Swing Kids (1993)
• Little Women (1994)
• Pocahontas (voice of Thomas, 1995)
• Velvet Goldmine (1998)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999)

Darker Roles

In 1999, Christian Bale shifted his focus a bit when he took on the lead role in American Psycho, playing serial killer Patrick Bateman. Bale described the script as "the opposite of anything I’d ever done before." He trained for the part by working out extensively and keeping to himself during filming to maintain the dark character.

Other film roles around that time included:

• Shaft (2000)
• Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001)
• Laurel Canyon (2002)
• Reign of Fire (2002)
• Equilibrium (2002)
• The Machinist (2004)

Batman

Bale originally auditioned for the role of Robin in Batman Forever, but Chris O’Donnell was cast instead. It turned out to work in his favor, as he was cast in the much darker Batman Begins later on (2005). After the significant weight loss he endured for The Machinist, Bale had to gain weight and build muscle for the role of Batman, gaining one hundred pounds in just six months.

The sequel, The Dark Knight, is set for release on July 18, 2008.

Recent Film Roles

Christian Bale has rarely had downtime from films and has recently been seen in:

• Harsh Times (2006), co-starring Eva Longoria
• The New World (2005), co-starring Colin Farrell
• The Prestige (2006), co-starring Scarlett Johansson
• Rescue Dawn (2007)
• I’m Not There (2007)
• 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

He is set to take on the role of John Connor in the latest incarnation of the Terminator series – Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.

Personal Life

Christian Bale married Sandra “Sibi” Blazic on January 29, 2000. Blazic was a model, make-up artist and once worked as Winona Ryder’s personal assistant. The couple has a daughter Emmaline, born in 2005.

Christian Bale Facts

• He auditioned with 4,000 other children for the role in Empire of the Sun.
• Lost 63 pounds for his role in The Machinist, weighing just 130 pounds at the end of filming.
• Won the 2006 MTV Movie Award for Best Hero for his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne.
• Recognized by Entertainment Weekly as one of the “Top 8 Most Powerful Cult Figures of the Past Decade.”
• Premiere named Bale one of the "Hottest Leading Men Under 30."
• Is rumored to have been in the running for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean (played by Orlando Bloom).
• Bale’s father was married to Gloria Steinem in 2000; his father passed away in 2003 from brain lymphoma.