Christian Bale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christian Bale
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Bale in 2019
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Christian Charles Philip Bale
30 January 1974 Haverfordwest, Wales
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1986–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Sibi Blažić
(m. 2000) |
| Children | 2 |
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| Relatives | Gloria Steinem (stepmother) |
| Awards | Full list |
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Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. He is famous for being able to play many different types of characters. He is also known for changing his physical appearance for his roles. Bale has starred in many popular movies. He has won major awards, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2014, Forbes magazine said he was one of the highest-paid actors.
Bale was born in Wales to English parents. His first big role was at age 13 in Steven Spielberg's 1987 movie Empire of the Sun. He later became very well-known for playing complex characters in films like American Psycho (2000) and The Machinist (2004). He is most famous for playing the superhero Batman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012). This series of movies is one of the most successful of all time.
Bale continued to star in a variety of films. He played a magician in The Prestige (2006) and the hero John Connor in Terminator Salvation (2009). For playing boxer Dicky Eklund in the movie The Fighter (2010), he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He received more Academy Award nominations for his roles in American Hustle (2013), The Big Short (2015), and Vice (2018). In Vice, he played the American politician Dick Cheney and won his second Golden Globe Award. More recently, he played race car driver Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari (2019) and the villain Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
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Early life
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born on 30 January 1974, in Haverfordwest, Wales. His parents were English. His mother, Jenny James, was a circus performer, and his father, David Bale, was an entrepreneur and activist. Bale has said, "I was born in Wales but I'm not Welsh—I'm English." He has two older sisters, Sharon and Louise.
Bale's family moved often when he was a child. They left Wales when he was two and lived in Portugal and different parts of England. He said that by the time he was 15, his family had lived in 15 different towns. He believes that moving so much helped him choose a career in acting. He attended Bournemouth School but left when he was 16. When he was 17, he moved to Los Angeles with his sister and father.
Bale's first acting role was in a TV commercial when he was eight years old. He also appeared in a cereal commercial. After seeing his sister in a musical, he decided to try acting professionally. He performed in a play called The Nerd in London in 1984 with actor Rowan Atkinson. He never had any formal acting training.
Career
First Roles and Big Break (1986–1999)
When he was 13, Bale was chosen from over 4,000 actors for a role in Steven Spielberg's 1987 film Empire of the Sun. He played a British boy living in a camp during World War II. This role made him famous and he won an award for his performance.
The fame was difficult for him. He was bullied at school and felt a lot of pressure. He wasn't sure if he wanted to keep acting, but he felt he needed to for financial reasons. Actor Kenneth Branagh encouraged him to continue, and he appeared in the 1989 film Henry V.
In the 1990s, Bale starred in several movies. He was in the Disney musical Newsies (1992) and the drama Swing Kids (1993). In 1994, he played Laurie in Little Women alongside Winona Ryder. The film was a big success. He also voiced the character Thomas in the Disney animated film Pocahontas (1995).
Becoming a Leading Actor (2000–2004)
In 2000, Bale played a memorable and dark character named Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho. To prepare for the role, he exercised a lot to change his body. The movie was a success and helped establish him as a leading man.
After American Psycho, Bale appeared in several films that had different levels of success. These included the action film Shaft (2000) and the drama Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001). In 2002, he starred in three films: Laurel Canyon, Reign of Fire, and Equilibrium.
In 2004, Bale starred in the thriller The Machinist. For this role, he showed incredible dedication by losing 63 pounds (about 28.5 kg). He became extremely thin to play the character, who was described in the script as "a walking skeleton". His performance was highly praised by critics.
Playing Batman and Other Major Roles (2005–2008)
Bale's most famous role came when he was cast as Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego Batman. He starred in director Christopher Nolan's film Batman Begins (2005). To get ready for the part, Bale had to gain back all the weight he lost for The Machinist and build a lot of muscle. He also trained in martial arts.
Bale used a deep, gravelly voice for Batman to make the character seem more powerful. Batman Begins was a huge hit. His performance was praised, and he won an MTV Movie Award for Best Hero.
During this time, Bale also starred in other films. He voiced the wizard Howl in the English version of the Japanese animated film Howl's Moving Castle (2005). He also appeared in the historical drama The New World (2005) and the war film Rescue Dawn (2006). In 2006, he worked with Christopher Nolan again on the film The Prestige, about two rival magicians.
In 2008, Bale returned as Batman in The Dark Knight. The movie was a massive success, earning over $1 billion worldwide. It is often called one of the best superhero films ever made.
More Success and Awards (2009–2012)
In 2009, Bale played rebellion leader John Connor in Terminator Salvation and FBI agent Melvin Purvis in Public Enemies. The next year, he starred in The Fighter (2010). He played Dicky Eklund, a boxer who is helping to train his younger brother, played by Mark Wahlberg.
To play Eklund, Bale lost 30 pounds (about 13.6 kg). His performance was praised by critics as being very realistic and powerful. For this role, Bale won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award.
In 2012, Bale played Batman for the third and final time in The Dark Knight Rises. The film was another huge success, also earning over $1 billion. The series, known as The Dark Knight trilogy, is one of the most successful and beloved film series of all time.
Continued Acclaim (2013–2019)
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After finishing the Batman series, Bale continued to take on challenging roles. In 2013, he starred in American Hustle. For this role, he gained 43 pounds (about 19.5 kg) and even changed his posture, which made him seem shorter. His performance earned him another Academy Award nomination.
In 2014, he played Moses in the epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings. The next year, he starred in The Big Short, a movie about the 2008 financial crisis. His role as a hedge fund manager earned him another Academy Award nomination.
In 2018, Bale transformed himself again to play Dick Cheney, the former Vice President of the United States, in the film Vice. He gained over 40 pounds (about 18 kg) and shaved his head for the part. His performance was highly praised, and he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
In 2019, he starred as race car driver Ken Miles in Ford v Ferrari. For this role, he lost all the weight he had gained for Vice. He received another Golden Globe nomination for his performance. After this film, he said he would stop changing his weight so drastically for roles.
Recent Work (2020–present)
In 2022, Bale played the villain Gorr the God Butcher in the Marvel superhero film Thor: Love and Thunder. Critics praised his performance, calling it one of the best parts of the movie. That same year, he also appeared in the films Amsterdam and The Pale Blue Eye.
In 2023, he once again worked on an English-language version of a Hayao Miyazaki film, voicing a character in The Boy and the Heron. Bale is set to play Frankenstein's monster in the upcoming film The Bride!.
Personal life
Bale has lived in Los Angeles since the 1990s and is also a US citizen. On 29 January 2000, he married Sandra "Sibi" Blažić, a former model. They have a daughter and a son.
Bale became a vegetarian when he was seven years old after reading the children's book Charlotte's Web. He is an animal rights activist and supports organizations like Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
In 2011, while promoting a film in China, Bale tried to visit Chen Guangcheng, a human rights activist who was being held by the government. He was stopped by guards but later met Chen the following year and presented him with an award.
Awards and Recognition
Christian Bale is known for his excellent acting in many popular and critically acclaimed films. Some of his highest-rated movies include The Dark Knight (2008), Ford v Ferrari (2019), American Hustle (2013), Little Women (1994), and The Fighter (2010). His highest-grossing films include the Dark Knight trilogy, Terminator Salvation (2009), and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
Bale has been nominated for four Academy Awards, winning one for Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter. He has also won two Golden Globe Awards for his roles in The Fighter and Vice. He has won several other awards for his work in film.
See also
In Spanish: Christian Bale para niños
