 Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Havefordwest Pembrokeshire, Wales on January 30, 1974 to David Bale and Jenny James. He also has three elder sisters: Erin, Sharon, and Louise. At the age of two, Christian and his family moved out of Wales and spent Christian's childhood in several countries including the United Kingdom, Portugal, and United States; the reason being that Christian's father did not want his children to sense their social class. Christian recalls his childhood as being memorable particularly because of his mother's profession as a circus clown. "When you're six or seven and your mom's dressed as clown, or mucking about with tigers or elephants in a circus, it kind of sticks in your head," Christian said. Despite his family's involvement in the entertainment industry, Christian fell into acting on accident. It was during his sister's audition for the West End stage production, Bugsy Malone, that a young Christian Bale was introduced to producers who urged him to audition for roles.
 Soon, Christian made his acting debut in 1986 as the czar's hemophiliac son, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia in the made for television movie, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. A year later, he starred in Heart of Country, a BBC miniseries, and the fantasy adventure, Mio in the Land of Faraway. That same year, a thirteen year old Christian landed the lead role of Jamie Graham in Steven Spielberg's drama, Empire of the Sun. Although the film tanked at the box office, Christian received critical acclaim, and the first ever "Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor" award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures for his performance as an English boy in Japanese occupied China during World War II. Despite the positive attention the media bestowed on the young actor, Christian seriously considered to quit acting because of the "fradulent side" of the industry, the publicity junket. "I couldn't quite work out why people were asking me to do things, what they expected of me. I just didn't get it. So, that put me off everything for quite some time," Christian explained.
 The person who persuaded Christian to continue his acting career was Kenneth Branagh who approached him for a role in Henry V in 1989. He played along side Charlton Heston as Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island in 1990. The next year, he starred as Tim Perkins in the made for TV film, A Murder of Quality. The next year, an 18 year old Christian starred as the leading "newsie," Jack Kelly in the Disney musical, Newsies. The film might have been a box office bomb, but through the years, the Disney musical has gained a cult following. Christian's follow up role was in Swing Kids in which he plays Thomas Berger, a Nazi youth who secretly listens to banned jazz music in Nazi Germany. In 1994, he played Amled in the period piece, Royal Deceit. That same year, Christian was handpicked by actress Winona Ryder to star in Gillian Armstrong's Little Women. It was there that Christian met his future wife, Sandra "Sibi" Blazic, the former assistant of Winona Ryder.
In 1995, Christian starred in another Disney production; this time providing the voice of Thomas in the animated film, Pochahontas. Christian worked with John Malkovich for the second time (they first worked together on Empire of the Sun) in The Portrait of a Lady, and played Stevie along side Bob Haskins in The Secret Agent all in 1996.
In 1997, Christian played the role of Chris in Metroland. It is said that in this particular film Christian is using his real accent. The next year, Christian Bale played a reporter investigating the whereabouts of a has been glam rocker in Todd Haynes' film, Velvet Goldmine. He also starred as a mentally challenged runaway in the independent film, All the Little Animals in the same year.
 In 1999, Christian joined a talented ensemble cast including Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer playing Demetrius in a modern version of A Midsummer's Night's Dream. He then took on the role of Jesus of Nazareth in the made for TV movie, Mary Mother of Jesus in 2000. Christian actually received the role in American Psycho before playing Jesus. He explains that he decided to play the Son of God because he needed to balance out Patrick Bateman's psychotic characteristics with a moral character. Who better than Jesus Christ? His next role would be quite a departure from the Son of God. In 2000, Christian Bale played serial killing yuppie, Patrick Bateman in Mary Harron's American Psycho. Originally, 90's teen hearthrob Leonardo DiCaprio was suppose to play the lead, but due to conflicting schedules, the role went to Christian. His performance in American Psycho was the first of many performances to show the great lengths Christian will go through for the sake of a film. In preparation for American Psycho, the then 26 year old actor followed a strict diet, exercised twice a day six months before filming, and received dental work in order to achieve the perfect look for Patrick Bateman. The intense preparation paid off. Although the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to much controversy, American Psycho showed audiences his true acting chops as a committed and capable actor and began his cult status. That same year was a personal high point for the actor who married his longtime girlfriend on January 29. Christian's next role that same year was similar to Patrick Bateman in the 1971 remake, Shaft in which he plays a villianous, racist yuppie.
 After Shaft, Christian would play a Greek fisherman vying for the affection of Pelagia's heart in 2001's Captain Corelli's Mandolin based on the best selling novel. His next film was 2002's Laurel Canyon where he played along side Kate Beckinsale who he worked with previously in the movie, Royal Deceit. Christian's next film was his first attempt in the action genre. Christian played dragon-slaying hero Quinn Abercromby in 2002's Reign of Fire . The next year, Christian Bale starred in Equilibriumas John Preston, a cleric in a post-apocalyptic society. For the film, Christian learned Gun Kata, a fictional form of gun-based martial arts created by Equilibrium's director/writer, Kurt Wimmer. According to moviebodycounts.com, Christian's character has the highest on screen kills of any film in history with 118 deaths, half of the movie's total death rate at 236. The film did not perform well at the box office due to lack of promotion, but Equilibrium has garnered a cult following since its DVD release.
 After a year long hiatus in 2003, Christian played his most demanding and challenging role to date as the tortured soul, Trevor Reznik in the graphic novel adaptation, 2004's The Machinist. To look the part of the chronic insomniac protagonist, the actor shed an astonishing 63 pounds through crash dieting, dropping to 130 pounds; Christian wanted to lose more weight for the role, but was forbade by the director and his doctor. The Machinist was praised by critics who were impressed by Christian's dedication with many comparing his transformation to Robert de Niro's fifty five pound weight gain in Raging Bull. That same year, Christian provided the voice to an animated character for the second time in the English language dubbed fantasy anime adventure, Howl's Moving Castle, an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones' children's novel. Christian lent his vocal stylings to the main character, Howl, a wizard who lives in a fantasic mobile castle.
 In 2005, Christian landed his biggest role to date as Batman in Christopher Nolan's restart of the Batman franchise, Batman Begins. Fresh off The Machinist set, Christian had to get into top physical shape to fit into Batman's powerful suit with a small time frame of six months to bulk up. Concerning his physical transformation for the superhero film, Christian said, "I knew there was going to be a great deal of action involved and I would like to be able to do as much as I can myself. I got up to about 220, but I was a bit Fatman at that time. I had to end up losing a lot of weight before we started filming." During promotion for the flick, Christian maintained Bruce Wayne's American accent to avoid confusion that a Welsh actor was playing Batman. Before Batman Begins premiered, Christian's daughter, Emmaline was born on March 27, 2005. Batman Begins opened to public and critical approval, earning $370,000,000 worldwide. Critics also praised the then 30 year old Bale for his compelling and dark turn as Batman. The next year he took home the golden popcorn for Best Hero award at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards for his Batman performance.
 After Batman Begins, Christian returned to independent films playing an Afganistan War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in 2005's crime drama, Harsh Times. Next, Christian was involved in a second Pochahontas related film, playing Pochahontas' husband in the Terrence Malick-directed period piece, 2005's The New World. Released in 2006, The Prestige stars Christian Bale along side an A-list cast including Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Caine in a film adaptation of Christopher Priest novel. Christian plays a 19th century magician who goes to absurd lengths for his craft. In 2007, Christian Bale starred in three critically acclaimed films. Shot in 2006, Christian portrayed German born Vietnam POW Dieter Dengler in 2007's Rescue Dawn. Always a committed actor, Christian went through raging rapids, popped maggots into his mouth as if they were potato chips, and was sucked by leeches in the jungles of Vietnam all to tell Dieter Dengler's true story about his six month ordeal in a Veitnam prison. Released in October 2007, 3:10 to Yuma was a critically hailed and a successful remake of the western classic by the same title. Christian plays a small time rancher who escorts an infamous outlaw (played by Russel Crowe) to the train leading to Yuma prison. In the same year, Christian played one out of six Bob Dylan characters in Todd Haynes' biopic concept meditation, I'm Not There.
 2008 is sure to be a huge year for the 33 year old actor. The sequel to the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight has already finished filming and is set to be released on July 18, 2008. For 2009, Christian is already in pre-production for the Joe Carnahan-directed Killing Pablo. Rumors have been running rampant about a role for Christian in the McG reboot of the Terminator franchise, Terminator 4: The Future Begins. Although nothing has been confirmed, Christian stated at a recent Q&A session, "It's true. There are rumors."
Christian Bale has proved time and time again that he is one of the most dedicated and compelling actors of our time. Although he admits that he has no true acting methods, he has chosen roles that demonstrate his strengths as an actor. Christian's talent is undeniable and there is no doubt we can expect great things from Mr. Bale in the future.
Biography last revised December 16, 2007. Do not take without permission.
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