Profile of Christian Bale on Famous Like Me

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born January 30, 1974) is an English actor from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. Bale gained fame when cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun at the age of 13. Recently, Bale has earned praise as the newest Batman in 2005's Batman Begins, co-starring Sir Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy.

Biography

Christian Bale was born to businessman David Bale and Jenny James, a circus performer. Although Christian's birthplace was in Wales, both of his parents are of English descent, and Christian is known to consider himself English. He has three older sisters: Erin Bale-Kreunen (a musician), Sharon Bale (a computer professional) and Louise Bale (a director and actress). Bale spent his childhood in a variety of countries including the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the United States.

He began his acting career by appearing in a Pac-man cereal advertisement in the UK at age 9 and then appeared a year later in the West End play The Nerd. His breakthrough came in 1987 when he was picked for the role of Jim in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. Bale next appeared in Henry V and TV roles before taking on several movie projects, starting in 1992 with the Disney musical feature film Newsies. For this role and his role in the 1993 film Swing Kids, Bale trained for 10 weeks in dancing and martial arts.

After this he drew further attention when he won the much-coveted role of Laurie in Little Women, having been hand-picked for the role by Winona Ryder who portrayed Jo in the film. He has since won roles in notable films such as Velvet Goldmine and the lead in American Psycho. His brilliant portrayal of yuppie businessman serial killer Patrick Bateman was met with rave reviews and critical acclaim, but due to the controversy surrounding the book on which the movie was based, it was not as successful as it 'should' have been. He recently played the title role in Batman Begins to yet more critical acclaim.

Trivia

• Christian Bale is known for his flawless ability to mimic accents. He has used a different one in almost every movie he has acted in. In 2005, he told Fresh Air interviewer Terry Gross that he tends to continue using a role's accent during the promotional interviews he does for a film, so as not to confuse his potential audience.

• Bale is usually critically lauded not only because of his excellent acting abilities, but also in the nature of his film roles. Bale seems interested in often portraying menacing, dark, or mentally complex characters, rather than mainstream-type heroes who would more immediately attract an audience. For instance, Bale seems unafraid to portray controversial characters, like the violent Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, or a homosexual character in Velvet Goldmine. Taking on these characters could have been great risks both to his career and his public reputation. However, they have earned him respect and kudos from many film critics and loyal fans.

• Because of his remarkable turn as the crazed, superficial New York City yuppie Patrick Bateman in the controversial American Psycho, Bale became quite a cult figure, once ranked in the top fifteen cult figures of all time by film experts.

• Bale has stated that he believes in the historic existence of Jesus Christ (whom he portrayed in the TV movie Mary, Mother of Jesus) and has positively commented on some of the ideology that Jesus preached. However, Bale remains mum and quite private in detailing his own personal religious beliefs.

• Bale is an excellent horseman, an avid reader, and also has a reputation as a great animal lover. He has two dogs called Mojo and Ramone and three cats called Miriam, Molly, and Lilly. He does not eat red meat, reputedly due to reading the book Charlotte's Web. He is active in several environmental and animal protection organizations including the Ark Trust, Greenpeace, and the World Wildlife Fund.

• His great-uncle Rex Bale was also an actor.

• On January 29, 2000 he married Sibi Blazic (Winona Ryder introduced them). Their daughter was born March 27, 2005, but they have refused to reveal her name to the public.

• Bale's father David Bale married American feminist icon Gloria Steinem in 2000. It was her first marriage. David died of a brain lymphoma on December 30, 2003, at the age of 62.

• Bale dropped 63 lbs for The Machinist. After wrapping up the movie, he regained the weight within six weeks to audition for the lead in Batman Begins. Bale then put on an additional 40 lbs of muscle for the film.

• Bale's height is 6 ft 0 in (183 cm). Bale himself has said he is 6 feet tall, despite rumours which put him at 6 ft 2 in.

• Bale was among the actors considered for the role of Robin in a previous Batman movie, Batman Forever (1995).

• Internet fans played a part in the casting of Bale as Batman. Bale was considered for the role of Batman in the cancelled Wolfgang Petersen picture Batman vs. Superman in 2002. Even after the collapse of the project, many Internet fans supported the idea of Bale as Batman thanks to his roles in American Psycho and Equilibrium. This support lead to Bale's audition and subsequent casting in 2003 for Batman Begins.

• Bale beat out several up and coming actors for the role of Batman including Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Jackson, Cillian Murphy (who ended up playing the villain Scarecrow opposite Bale's Batman), Hugh Dancy, and Billy Crudup.

• Some of his fans call themselves Baleheads.

• Bale is the main contender for the role of Solid Snake in a film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid games.

Filmography

• The Prestige
• "Batman 2" (2007/2008) .... Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Rescue Dawn (2006) .... Dieter Dengler
• Harsh Times (2006) .... Jim David
• The New World (2005) .... John Rolfe
• Batman Begins (2005) .... Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Howl's Moving Castle (2004) (English version) .... Howl (Voice)
• The Machinist (2004) .... Trevor Reznik
• Equilibrium (2002) .... John Preston
• Reign of Fire (2002) .... Quinn Abercromby
• Laurel Canyon (2002) .... Sam
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) .... Mandras
• Shaft (2000) .... Walter Wade, Jr.
• American Psycho (2000) .... Patrick Bateman
• Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999) (TV) .... Jesus of Nazareth
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) .... Demetrius
• All the Little Animals (1998) .... Bobby Platt
• Velvet Goldmine (1998) .... Arthur Stuart
• Metroland (1997) .... Chris
• The Portrait of a Lady (1996) .... Edward Rosier
• The Secret Agent (1996) .... Stevie
• Pocahontas (1995) (voice) .... Thomas
• Little Women (1994) .... Laurie
• Prince of Jutland (1994) .... Prince Amled
• Swing Kids (1993) .... Thomas Berger
• Newsies (1992) .... Jack Kelly/Francis Sullivan
• A Murder of Quality (1991) (TV) .... Tim Perkins
• Treasure Island (1990) (TV) .... Jim Hawkins
• Henry V (1989) .... Falstaff's Boy
• Empire of the Sun (1987) .... Jim
• Mio min Mio (1987) .... Jum-Jum
• Heart of the Country (1987) (mini TV series) .... Ben Harris
• Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986) (TV) .... Alexei

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