Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is a
British actor whose film credits include
Empire of the Sun,
American Psycho,
3:10 To Yuma,
Batman Begins,
The Dark Knight and the upcoming film
Terminator Salvation, where he will play the role of
John Connor. Bale is known for his mastery of accents and harsh regimens of shedding and gaining weight (particularly for
The Machinist,
Batman Begins and, most recently,
Rescue Dawn). In addition to starring roles, such as
Batman, in big budget Hollywood films, he has long been heavily involved in
independent and
art house films.
Bale first caught the public eye when he was cast in the starring role of
Steven Spielberg's
Empire of the Sun at the age of 13, playing an English boy who becomes separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a
Japanese internment camp during
World War II. Since then, he has portrayed a wide range of characters. Bale is especially noted for his
cult following. The tenth anniversary issue of
Entertainment Weekly hailed him as one of the "Top 8 Most Powerful Cult Figures of the Past Decade", citing his impressive cult status on the
internet.
[Wilson, Cintra. "The magic Christian" Salon, 26 October 2004, retrieved on 2006-05-27.] Entertainment Weekly called Bale one of the "Most Creative People in Entertainment", after his performance in
American Psycho.
Early life
[
Bale 02.jpg|right|thumb|A 14-year old Bale in Stockholm, Sweden in February 1988 while promoting [[Empire of the Sun (film)|Empire of the Sun].]]
