Christian Bale

Profile
Name: Christian Bale
Birth Name: Christian Charles Philip Bale
Height: 6'
Sex: M
Nationality: Welsh
Birth Date: January 30, 1974
Birth Place: Haverford, West Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Profession: Actor, Producer
Education: College in Southern California in the mid-1990s
Husband/Wife: Sibi Blasic (aka Sandra Bale; married on January 29, 2000)
Father: David Bale (former commercial pilot; divorced)
Mother: (circus dancer)
Sister: Louise Bale (actress; born on July 22, 1972); Erin Bale (musician; older), and Sharon Bale (computer professional; older)
Step Mother: Gloria Steinem (feminist activist; married David Bale on September 3, 2000)
Uncle: Rex Bale (actor)
Daughter: His first daughter was born 27 March, 2005 in Santa Monica, California.
Claim to fame: As James Graham in Empire of the Sun (1987)

Biography
The 10th Anniversary issue of Entertainment Weekly crowned Christian Bale as one of the "Top 8 Most Powerful Cult Figures" of the past decade, citing his incredible and legendary cult status on the Internet. EW also calls Bale one of the "Most Creative People in Entertainment" after his brilliant turn as the psychopathic yuppie serial killer in American Psycho (2000). And Premiere lauded him as one of the "Hottest Leading Men Under 30." Christian Bale has garnered a huge international audience ever since he wowed critics with his devastating performance in Steven Spielberg's WWII epic Empire of the Sun (1987).

Bale made his professional debut opposite British comedian Rowan Atkinson on the London West End stage. He auditioned with 4000 other kids for the coveted role of James Graham in Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. Bale received a special citation for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor from the National Board of Review -- an award specially created for his performance in Empire. In the following decade, Welsh-born Bale has appeared in Shakespeare, dramas and comedies demonstrating a versatility, depth and range that has made him one of the best reviewed actors today and one of the most popular actors on the Internet. Bale is the youngest in a family of 3 older sisters (Erin, Sharon, and Louise).

Filmography
Actor
2008 The Dark Knight
2007 I'm Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan
2007 3:10 to Yuma
2006 Rescue Dawn
2006 Harsh Times
2006 The Prestige
2005 The New World
2005 Batman Begins
2004 Howl's Moving Castle
2003 The Machinist
2002 Equilibrium
2002 Reign of Fire
2002 Laurel Canyon
2001 Captain Corelli's Mandolin
2000 American Psycho
2000 Shaft
1999 A Midsummer Night's Dream
1999 Mary, Mother of Jesus
1998 Velvet Goldmine
1998 All The Little Animals
1997 Metroland
1996 The Portrait of a Lady
1996 The Secret Agent
1995 Pocahontas
1994 Little Women
1994 Royal Deceit
1993 Swing Kids
1992 Newsies
1991 A Murder of Quality
1989 Treasure Island
1989 Henry V
1987 Empire of the Sun
1987 Mio in the Land of Faraway
1986 Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
1986 Heart of the Country

Executive Producer
2006 Harsh Times

Awards
London Film Critics Association
2005 Best British Actor Machinist

London Film Critics Circle
2006 Best British Actor Prestige

National Board of Review
1987 Outstanding Juvenile Performance Empire of the Sun

Trivia

Is close to a deal to star opposite Russell Crowe in Western remake 3:10 TO YUMA. (August 5, 2006)

Says his tight bat suit helps him conjure up the beast from within to play a menacing superhero in BATMAN. (June 9, 2005)

Becomes a father after his wife gave birth to his first daughter on March 27, 2005.

Has signed on to star in the indie HARSH TIMES, written and directed by TRAINING DAY writer David Ayer. (December 4, 2004)

Lost 1/3 of his body weight for his role in THE MACHINIST. (2004)

Was so determined to beef up to play Batman in BATMAN BEGINS just six weeks after playing an emaciated machine operator in THE MACHINIST he made himself sick by gorging on pizza and ice-cream. (2004)

With BATMAN BEGINS, he will become the seventh actor to play Batman and the only one since Adam West to stand the same height as Batman, who is 6-feet-2-inches tall according to the comic books.

Doesn’t eat red meat.

A devoted animal lover, Christian has two dogs (Mojo and Ramone) and three cats (Miriam, Molly, and Lilly), which are all strays that he found.

Was handpicked by Winona Ryder for the coveted role of Laurie (Theodore Laurence) in LITTLE WOMEN.

Hand-picked by director/writer Mary Harron and author Bret Easton Ellis to star in AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000). Was noted by the media as the first star of AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000), only to lose the part to Leonardo DiCaprio, and then win it back again.

He has an uncanny ear for accents - he has used a different accent for each of his films to date.

He is an excellent horseman and an avid reader.

He trained for 10 weeks in dancing and martial arts for the dance sequences in Newsies and Swing Kids.

Since reading Charlotte's Web, Christian does not eat red meat.

On location in Prague in near freezing weather, he was visited by Steven Spielberg (director of his feature film debut EMPIRE OF THE SUN, 1987) to play in SWING KIDS (1993). Spielberg was also in Prague filming SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993).

Over his shoulder in one of the close-up shots during the last scene of AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000), when Patrick is having drinks with his friends, one can see a plaque above a door that reads: This is not an exit. That phrase appears as the last line of the book the movie is based on.

Filming THE MACHINIST in Spain. (August 2003)

Is active in many organizations, including Ark Trust, Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Foundation, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the Redwings Sanctuary, and the Happy Child Mission, and a school for street kids in Rio de Janeiro.

His grandfather doubled for John Wayne in two movies in Africa.

His first on-screen role was in 1983 at age 9 in a British commercial for Pac-Man Cereal.

Was raised in England, Portugal and California.

He replaced Leonardo DiCaprio for the film AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000).

Stepson of author-feminist Gloria Steinem.

Met his wife through Winona Ryder; she was Ryder's personal assistant.