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Naoya Inoue - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live |
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TITLE: Christian_Bale |
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Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. His accolades include an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to four British Academy Film Awards nomin... |
Born in Wales to English parents, Bale had his breakthrough role at age 13 in Steven Spielberg's 1987 war film Empire of the Sun. After more than a decade of leading and supporting roles in films, he gained wider recognition for his portrayals of the serial killer Patrick Bateman in the black comedy American Psycho (20... |
Outside his work as Batman, Bale had starring roles in a range of films. For his portrayal of the boxer Dicky Eklund in David O. Russell's biographical film The Fighter (2010), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Further Academy Award nominations came for his work in Russell's black comedy American Hust... |
Early life and education |
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Christian Charles Philip Bale was born on 30 January 1974 in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, to English parents—Jenny James, a circus performer, and David Bale, an entrepreneur and activist. Bale has remarked, "I was born in Wales but I'm not Welsh—I'm English". He has two elder sisters, Sharon and Louise, and a h... |
He attended Bournemouth School until the age of 16. Bale's parents divorced in 1991, and at age 17, he moved with his sister Louise and their father to Los Angeles, United States. |
Bale trained in ballet as a child. His first acting role came at eight years old in a commercial for the fabric softener Lenor. He also appeared in a Pac-Man cereal commercial. After his sister was cast in a West End musical, Bale considered taking up acting professionally. He said later he did not find acting appealin... |
Career |
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Early roles and breakthrough (1986–1999) |
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After deciding to become an actor at age ten, Bale secured a minor role in the 1986 television film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. Its star, Amy Irving, who was married to the director Steven Spielberg, subsequently recommended Bale for Spielberg's 1987 film Empire of the Sun. At age 13, Bale was chosen from over 4,00... |
Bale starred in the 1992 Disney musical film Newsies, which was unsuccessful both at the box office and with critics. Rebecca Milzoff of Vulture revisited the film in 2012 and found the cracks in Bale's voice during his performance of the song "Santa Fe" charming and apt even though he was not a great singer. In 1993 h... |
Rise to prominence and commercial decline (2000–2004) |
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Bale played Patrick Bateman, an investment banker and serial killer, in American Psycho, a film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name, directed by Mary Harron. While Harron had chosen Bale for the part, the film's production and distribution company, Lionsgate, originally disagreed and hired Leonardo... |
In the four years that followed American Psycho, Bale's career experienced critical and commercial failure. He next played a villainous real estate heir in John Singleton's action film Shaft and appeared in John Madden's film adaptation of the Louis de Bernières novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin as Mandras, a Greek fish... |
Bale starred as the insomnia-ridden, emotionally dysfunctional title character in the psychological thriller The Machinist. To prepare for the role, he initially only smoked cigarettes and drank whiskey. His diet later expanded to include black coffee, an apple and a can of tuna per day. Bale lost 63 pounds (29 kg), we... |
Batman and dramatic roles (2005–2008) |
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Bale portrayed Bruce Wayne and his superhero alias, Batman, in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, a reboot of the Batman film series. Nolan cast Bale, who was still fairly unknown at the time, because Bale had "exactly the balance of darkness and light" Nolan sought. For the part, Bale regained the weight he lost for T... |
In the same year, Bale voiced the titular Howl, a wizard, in the English-language dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle, a Japanese animated film adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones's novel of the same name. He committed himself to voice the role after watching Miyazaki's animated film Spirited Away. Later that year... |
For the 2006 film The Prestige, Bale reunited with Batman Begins director Nolan, who said that Bale was cast after offering himself for the part. It is based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest about a rivalry between two Victorian era magicians, whom Bale and Hugh Jackman play in the film. While it attracted accla... |
The Dark Knight trilogy completion and acclaim (2009–2012) |
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In February 2008, Warner Bros. announced that Bale would star as the rebellion leader John Connor in the post-apocalyptic action film Terminator Salvation, directed by McG, who cited Bale as "the most credible actor of his generation". In February 2009 an audio recording of a tirade on the film's set in July 2008 invol... |
Bale portrayed the Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Melvin Purvis opposite Johnny Depp as the gangster John Dillinger in Michael Mann's crime drama Public Enemies. Released in July 2009, it earned critical praise and had a commercially successful theatrical run. Dan Zak of The Washington Post was unsatisfied with ... |
Bale played Batman again under Nolan's direction in the sequel The Dark Knight Rises, released in July 2012. He described Batman in the film as a remorseful recluse in poor mental and physical health, who has surrendered following the events of The Dark Knight. Following a mass shooting at a midnight showing of the fil... |
Continued critical success (2013–2019) |
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In 2013 Bale played a steel mill worker in Scott Cooper's thriller Out of the Furnace. Cooper rewrote the film's script with Bale in mind before the two even met and would not proceed with the project without the actor's involvement. Critics commended the film and deemed it an excellent beginning of the next phase in B... |
Bale portrayed Moses in Ridley Scott's epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings. Released in December 2014, the film faced accusations of whitewashing for the casting of Caucasian actors in Middle Eastern roles. Scott justified casting decisions citing financing needs, Bale stating that Scott had been forthright in getting the... |
In the 2016 historical drama The Promise, set during the Armenian genocide, he played an American journalist who becomes involved in a love triangle with a woman, played by Charlotte Le Bon, and an Armenian medical student, played by Oscar Isaac. Critics disapproved of the film, which accrued a $102 million loss. Revie... |
For the 2018 biographical comedy drama Vice, written and directed by Adam McKay, Bale underwent a major body transformation once again, as he gained over 40 pounds (18 kg) and shaved his head to portray US Vice President Dick Cheney. He described Cheney, who is reckoned the most influential and loathed vice president i... |
Bale portrayed the sports car racing driver Ken Miles in the 2019 sports drama Ford v Ferrari, for which he lost 70 pounds (32 kg) after playing Cheney. Directed by James Mangold, the film follows Miles and the automotive designer Carroll Shelby, played by Matt Damon, in events surrounding the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans ... |
Limited work (2020–present) |
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Bale played Gorr the God Butcher, a villain, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Thor: Love and Thunder, which was released in July 2022. He cited a character in the music video for the Aphex Twin song "Come to Daddy" as an inspiration for his characterization of Gorr. Bale's portrayal drew praise from crit... |
Bale will next play Frankenstein's monster in Maggie Gyllenhaal's fantasy period film The Bride!. It is scheduled for release on 6 March 2026. He will also portray the football coach and the Las Vegas Raiders owner Al Davis in the John Madden biopic Madden, working with Russell for the fourth time. |
Artistry and public image |
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Bale is known for his exhaustive dedication to the weight fluctuations that his parts demand as well as "the intensity with which he completely inhabits his roles", with The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday rating him among the most physically gifted actors of his generation. Max O'Connell of RogerEbert.com deemed Bale's... |
Bale has been recognised for his versatility; Martha Ross of The Mercury News named him one of his generation's most versatile actors. Known to be very private about his personal life, Bale has said that his objective was to embody characters without showing any aspect of himself. He explained that "letting people know... |
Bale is often described as a sex symbol. He was ranked at number eight on Forbes magazine's list of the highest-paid actors of 2014, earning $35 million. The Independent named Bale one of the greatest film actors of the 21st century in 2025. |
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