|
|
Christian Bale
Born 30 Jan 1974, in Haverfordwest, Wales
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. He has since risen in stature with each role, often choosing unusual roles, as much for his interest in them as for their ability to develop his career.
Standout roles are the lead in American Psycho and more recently the title role in the psychological thriller The Machinist. Bale devoted himself to the role to an extent he had never gone to, sacrificing his mental and physical well being to achieve Reznik's emaciated, skeletal appearance for the sake of an authentic, natural performance. He lost 60 pounds (27 kilograms) in a matter of months.[21] Bale wanted to lose more, but everyone from the director to his doctor forbade him (Bale weighed 130 pounds (54 kg) by the end of filming).
Next came Batman Begins, which returned the Batman franchise to the darkness of its comic book roots and once again re-ignited the franchise as much due to Bales performance as an ensemble cast and superb director in Christopher Nolan.
"At first, I was somewhat hesitant to do the role. I mean, after all, Batman is an icon. But I remember, as clear as day, being at the grocery store the day the movie opened, and this little boy saw me. He couldn't have been more than five years old. He just walked right up to me and hugged me. He hugged me, and I was so moved by it that I hugged him back. Then he looked up at me and said "You're my hero." And in that moment, I knew that not only as an actor that I had done my job, but that I had made the right decision to play Batman. And I've never looked back on my the decision to play Batman since."
The Prestige gave Bale a chance to show another side of his character skills. The film is split into three storylines, each resembling one of the three stages of magic. Bale played opposite Hugh Jackman as rival magicians consumed the desire to upstage each other and deliver the perfect third act; know as the "prestige".
3:10 to Yuma saw Bale in a Western that also featured Russell Crowe and opened to raputrous reviews.
Bale returns to Batman in this summers The Dark Knight which is notable for also being the swansong of Heath Ledger, who takes on the role of The Joker.
RAWRRR!!!!
News |
What members say |
Filmography
Christian Bale - news / articles
-
-
Harrelson wanted to channel Bale's The Machinist look for new movie -
9 February 2012
-Actor Woody Harrelson dropped almost 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) in his bid to mimic Christian Bale's emaciated look in The Machinist for his role as a twisted cop in new movie Rampart.-The Natural Born Killers star, 50, wasn't convinced he could pull off the portrayal
-
-
Batman Bale breaks up fight between tramps -
19 January 2012
-Batman Begins star Christian Bale was hailed a real-life hero over the Christmas (11) holidays after stepping in to break up a fight between two homeless men in California.-The actor was shopping near his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles when he spotted two vagrants enga
-
-
Bale finished with Batman -
27 November 2011
-Batman Begins star Christian Bale is hanging up his cape for good - his upcoming superhero movie will be his last.-The actor took on the role for the first time in 2005's Batman Begins, before returning to the part for the acclaimed The Dark Knight in 2008, which pulle
Christian Bale - what members say
review by from Southport, Merseyside
Oooooh Batman. 2 July 2005
review by from London
Stunning Performances 4 July 2006
review by from Newcastle, England
Better then I thought. 20 February 2007
Christian Bale - filmography
-
-
The Dark Knight Rises
(2011)
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate: 
Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the terrorist leader Bane arrives in Gotham City, pushing it and its police force to their limits, forcing its former hero Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes.
 
82%
from 263 members
Currently unavailable
-
-
The Flowers of War - Blu-ray
(2011)
Starring: Christian Bale, Paul Schneider, Shigeo Kobayashi
Director: Yimou Zhang
Certificate:
The film, set during the Japanese invasion of China, is told from a young girl's point of view, not as a history lesson, but as an intimate, elemental and paradoxically universal celebration of the human spirit. Bale stars as a dissolute Westerner who seeks refuge in a Catholic Church. There he ..read more »
60%
from 2 members
Due for release on 16th July 2012
-
-
The Flowers of War
(2011)
Starring: Christian Bale, Paul Schneider, Shigeo Kobayashi
Director: Yimou Zhang
Certificate:
The film, set during the Japanese invasion of China, is told from a young girl's point of view, not as a history lesson, but as an intimate, elemental and paradoxically universal celebration of the human spirit. Bale stars as a dissolute Westerner who seeks refuge in a Catholic Church. There he ..read more »
80%
from 7 members
Due for release on 16th July 2012
-
-
The Fighter
on DVD
(2010)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams
Director: David O. Russell
Certificate: 
Drama about boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO'd by drugs and crime.
76%
from 33,375 members
-
-
The Fighter - Blu-ray
(2010)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams
Director: David O. Russell
Certificate:
Drama about boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO'd by drugs and crime.
77%
from 14,460 members
-
-
Public Enemies - Blu-ray
(2009)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard
Director: Michael Mann
Certificate:
Based on author Bryan Burrough's ambitious tome 'Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43', director Michael Mann (HEAT, LAST OF THE MOHICANS) has crafted a sprawling historical crime drama that follows the efforts of top FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian ..read more »
62%
from 306 members
Not available for rental
-
-
Terminator - Salvation
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Helena Bonham-Carter
Director: McG
Certificate: 
Watch now: Unavailable
The year is 2018. Judgment Day has come and gone. At the behest of Skynet, an army of Terminators roams the wastelands killing or collecting humans. The only hope for the survival of humanity is Resistance fighter John Connor: a man whose destiny has always been intertwined with the fate of human ..read more »
68%
from 56,155 members
-
-
Terminator - Salvation - Blu-ray
(2009)
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Helena Bonham-Carter
Director: McG
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
The year is 2018. Judgment Day has come and gone. At the behest of Skynet, an army of Terminators roams the wastelands killing or collecting humans. The only hope for the survival of humanity is Resistance fighter John Connor: a man whose destiny has always been intertwined with the fate of human ..read more »
69%
from 15,939 members
-
-
Public Enemies
(2009)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard
Director: Michael Mann
Certificate:
Based on author Bryan Burrough's ambitious tome 'Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43', director Michael Mann (HEAT, LAST OF THE MOHICANS) has crafted a sprawling historical crime drama that follows the efforts of top FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian ..read more »
68%
from 2,459 members
Not available for rental
-
-
The Dark Knight
on DVD
(2008)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly.
80%
from 98,383 members
-
-
The Dark Knight - Blu-ray
(2 discs)
(2008)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Director Christopher Nolan (MEMENTO, THE PRESTIGE) returns to Gotham City with this sequel to the critically-acclaimed fan favourite, BATMAN BEGINS. In THE DARK KNIGHT, Batman (Christian Bale - RESCUE DAWN, AMERICAN PSYCHO) squares off against a new, completely psychotic foe: the Joker (Heath ..read more »
84%
from 22,394 members
-
-
Rescue Dawn - Blu-ray
(2007)
Starring: Steve Zahn, Zach Grenier, Jeremy Davies
Director: Werner Herzog
Certificate:
Incomparable director Werner Herzog takes another strange turn in his eclectic career with RESCUE DAWN--a major studio picture starring Christian Bale (BATMAN BEGINS). The film is an adaptation of Herzog's 1997 documentary LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, which focused on Dieter Dengler, a pilot who was ..read more »
68%
from 2,182 members
-
-
I'm Not There - Blu-ray
(2007)
Starring: Marcus Carl Franklin, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw
Director: Todd Haynes
Certificate:
Todd Haynes (VELVET GOLDMINE, FAR FROM HEAVEN) delivers this dazzling, experimental take on the life of popular music's most revered and enigmatic artist: Bob Dylan. In keeping with the impossible-to-pin-down nature of Dylan himself, Haynes chose to cast six different actors to portray several ..read more »
55%
from 452 members
-
-
3:10 to Yuma
on DVD
(2007)
Starring: Christian Bale, Chris Browning, Chad Brummett
Director: James Mangold
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
72%
from 55,059 members
-
-
I'm Not There
on DVD
(2007)
Starring: Marcus Carl Franklin, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw
Director: Todd Haynes
Certificate:
Todd Haynes (VELVET GOLDMINE, FAR FROM HEAVEN) delivers this dazzling, experimental take on the life of popular music's most revered and enigmatic artist: Bob Dylan. In keeping with the impossible-to-pin-down nature of Dylan himself, Haynes chose to cast six different actors to portray several ..read more »
55%
from 11,588 members
-
-
The Prestige
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Christian Bale, Piper Perabo, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
From acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan ("Memento," "Batman Begins"), comes a mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy with dangerous and deadly consequences.From the time that they first met as young magicians on the rise, Robert ..read more »
74%
from 94,440 members
-
-
The Prestige - Blu-ray
(2006)
Starring: Christian Bale, Piper Perabo, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Director Christopher Nolan's (MEMENTO) eclectic resume gains another interesting entry with THE PRESTIGE. Set in early 20th-century London, the film centres on the bitter rivalry between two magicians who go to increasingly dangerous lengths to upstage one another. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman, X-..read more »
78%
from 6,745 members
-
-
Rescue Dawn
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies
Director: Werner Herzog
Certificate:
Incomparable director Werner Herzog takes another strange turn in his eclectic career with RESCUE DAWN--a major studio picture starring Christian Bale (BATMAN BEGINS). The film is an adaptation of Herzog's 1997 documentary LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, which focused on Dieter Dengler, a pilot who was ..read more »
66%
from 22,571 members
-
-
The Prestige - HD
(2006)
Starring: Christian Bale, Piper Perabo, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Director Christopher Nolan's (MEMENTO) eclectic resume gains another interesting entry with THE PRESTIGE. Set in early 20th-century London, the film centres on the bitter rivalry between two magicians who go to increasingly dangerous lengths to upstage one another. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman, X-..read more »
77%
from 1,336 member
Not currently released
-
-
Harsh Times
on DVD
(2006)
Starring: Christian Bale, Freddy RodrÃguez, Eva Longoria
Director: David Ayer
Certificate:
Haunted by nightmares from his murderous military past, the honourably discharged Jim (Christian Bale) spends his time between his impoverished fiancee in rural Mexico and cruising the streets of east L.A., knocking back beers and smoking joints with his buddy Mike (Freddy Rodriguez). They also ..read more »
58%
from 16,088 members
-
-
Batman Begins
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Years ago, a young boy watched a street thug murder his parents. His life went cold. He left the city for the Far East, where he trained. He grew strong. But so did the darkness. And now the man is returning to Gotham City. The black, boiling drive for vengeance will cause Bruce Wayne to create a ..read more »
74%
from 133,874 members
-
-
The New World
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Colin Farrell, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer
Director: Terrence Malick
Certificate:
The New World is an epic adventure set amid the encounter of European and Native American cultures during the founding of the Jamestown settlement in 1607. Inspired by the legend of John Smith and Pocahontas, acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick transforms this classic story into a sweeping ..read more »
47%
from 21,661 members
-
-
Batman Begins - Blu-ray
(2005)
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Genius of mystery and intrigue Christopher Nolan (MEMENTO, FOLLOWING, INSOMNIA) helms this prequel to the Batman films based on the DC Comics series, explaining how Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) the billionaire prince of Gotham whose parents were killed in an alleyway mugging transformed into the ..read more »
85%
from 10,475 members
-
-
Batman Begins - HD
(2005)
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson
Director: Christopher Nolan
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Years ago, a young boy watched a street thug murder his parents. His life went cold. He left the city for the Far East, where he trained. He grew strong. But so did the darkness. And now the man is returning to Gotham City. The black, boiling drive for vengeance will cause Bruce Wayne to create a ..read more »
80%
from 3,028 members
Not currently released
-
-
Howl's Moving Castle
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Certificate: 
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking home.
79%
from 25,685 members
-
-
The Machinist - Blu-ray
(2004)
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
Director: Brad Anderson
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerising thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place in a bleak and nondescript American city, where Trevor Reznick (Bale) is quite literally withering ..read more »
73%
from 613 members
-
-
The Machinist
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
Director: Brad Anderson
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Having not slept for a year, lathe operator Trevor Reznick (Christian Bale) is dying of insomnia. Why he can't sleep, he can't remember. His every waking minute has become an unrelenting nightmare of confusion, paranoia, guilt, anxiety and terror; each of which is part of an escalating series of ..read more »
64%
from 59,251 members
-
-
Equilibrium
on DVD
(2002)
Starring: Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Angus Macfadyen
Director: Kurt Wimmer
Certificate:
In a futuristic society where the government requires the people to stay tranquil and submissive by taking a psychological drug, people no longer have emotions. Because of this, there are no more wars. But when one of the enforcement agents realizes that maybe peaceful oblivion is not the answer, ..read more »
65%
from 25,236 members
-
-
Equilibrium - Blu-ray
(2002)
Starring: Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Angus Macfadyen
Director: Kurt Wimmer
Certificate:
In a futuristic society where the government requires the people to stay tranquil and submissive by taking a psychological drug, people no longer have emotions. Because of this, there are no more wars. But when one of the enforcement agents realizes that maybe peaceful oblivion is not the answer, ..read more »
69%
from 2,603 members
-
-
Reign Of Fire
on DVD
(2002)
Starring: Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Izabella Scorupco
Director: Rob Bowman
Certificate:
In present-day London, 10 year-old Quinn visits his construction engineer mother at her work. When he crawls into a cavern the workers have uncovered, he finds a large, fire-breathing dragon-which destroys the site and kills his mother. Fast-forward to 2020. Quinn (Christian Bale, AMERICAN PSYCHO) ..read more »
59%
from 12,926 members
-
-
Laurel Canyon
on DVD
(2002)
Starring: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Certificate: 
Just out of Harvard medical school, Sam (Christian Bale) and his fiancee Alex (Kate Beckinsale) seem destined for a life of privilege. Intending to find an apartment of their own in Los Angeles--where Sam will do his residency and Alex will complete her dissertation--they decide to stay temporarily ..read more »
53%
from 4,956 members
-
-
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, John Hurt
Director: John Madden
Certificate:
In keeping with Hollywood's time-honoured tradition of turning celebrated novels into cinematic spectacles, director John Madden brings Louis de Berniere's acclaimed 1994 work, CORELLI'S MANDOLIN, to life. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia in 1940, the film tells the story of the beautiful ..read more »
61%
from 12,058 members
-
-
Shaft
on DVD
(2000)
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Richard Roundtree
Director: John Singleton
Certificate:
Samuel L. Jackson stars as detective John Shaft, a new-generation "black private dick who's a sex machine with all the chicks" in this stylish, action-packed update of the classic blaxploitation trilogy (SHAFT, SHAFT'S BIG SCORE!, and SHAFT IN AFRICA) from the early 1970s. Shaft's nemesis this time ..read more »
60%
from 5,841 members
-
-
American Psycho
on DVD
(2000)
Starring: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto
Director: Mary Harron
Certificate:
Patrick Bateman is young, white, beautiful, ivy leagued, and indistinguishable from his Wall Street colleagues. Shielded by conformity, privilege, and wealth, Bateman is also the ultimate serial killer, roaming freely and fearlessly. His murderous impulses are fueled by zealous materialism and ..read more »
66%
from 24,094 members
-
-
Velvet Goldmine
on DVD
(1998)
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Toni Collette, Eddie Izzard
Director: Todd Haynes
Certificate:
Loosely based on the experiences and personalities of David Bowie and Iggy Pop, VELVET GOLDMINE is a wild, glitter-laced trip through the 1970s era of glam rock. Fictional characters Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) and Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor) are personifications of glam rock's ideals, with ..read more »
55%
from 4,776 members
-
-
Metroland
(1997)
Starring: Christian Bale, Lee Ross, Emily Watson
Director: Philip Saville
Certificate:
Two best friends vow never to become trapped in suburbia's metroland. Escaping by the end of the 1960s, one young man decides to go globetrotting whilst the other moves to France.... Years later they meet again.
55%
from 363 members
Currently unavailable
-
-
The Secret Agent
(1996)
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, Gerard Depardieu
Director: Christopher Hampton
Certificate:
The life of an undercover Russian agent, posing as a quiet shopkeeper in London in order to infiltrate a ring of anarchists, is thrown into turmoil when his employers order him to plant a bomb at the Greenwich Observatory. Based on the novel by Joseph Conrad.
38%
from 26 members
Currently unavailable
-
-
Little Women
on DVD
(1994)
Starring: Winona Ryder, Gabriel Byrne, Trini Alvarado
Director: Gillian Armstrong
Certificate:
The fourth screen adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic 1869 novel, LITTLE WOMEN, is given a realistic and rounded treatment by screenwriter Jo Swicord and Australian director Gillian Armstrong, whose perspective emphasises a feminist tone. The story chronicles the lives of a mother and four ..read more »
70%
from 4,671 members
-
-
A Murder Of Quality
(1991)
Starring: Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland, Glenda Jackson
Director: Gavin Millar
Certificate: 
The British class system is under fire in this adaptation of John Le Carre's novel. One-time spy master George Smiley (Denholm Elliott) is called in to investigate the murder of Stella Strode, a schoolteacher's wife at a public school. She had predicted her own death in a letter to a friend. ..read more »
58%
from 566 members
Currently unavailable
-
-
Treasure Island
(1990)
Starring: Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, Richard Johnson
Director: Fraser Clarke Heston
Certificate:
Young Jim Hawkins, while running the Benbow Inn with his mother, meets Captain Billy Bones, who dies at the inn while it is besieged by buccaneers led by Blind Pew. Jim and his mother fight off the attackers and discover Billy Bones' treasure map for which the buccaneers had come. Jim agrees to ..read more »
72%
from 12 members
Currently unavailable
-
-
Empire of the Sun
on DVD
(1987)
Starring: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson
Director: Steven Spielberg
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Steven Spielberg's 'Empire Of The Sun', based on the autobiographical novel by J.G. Ballard, stars Christian Bale as Jim Graham, a British schoolboy separated from his upper-class colonial parents when the Japanese sweep into Shanghai during World War II. Temporarily orphaned, Jim attaches himself ..read more »
76%
from 9,393 members
-
-
Empire of the Sun - Blu-ray
(1987)
Starring: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson
Director: Steven Spielberg
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Steven Spielberg's 'Empire Of The Sun', based on the autobiographical novel by J.G. Ballard, stars Christian Bale as Jim Graham, a British schoolboy separated from his upper-class colonial parents when the Japanese sweep into Shanghai during World War II. Temporarily orphaned, Jim attaches himself ..read more »
79%
from 50 members
Due for release on 2nd July 2012
|
Christian Bale facts
|
...een killed off after those last few films that I can't bring myself to mention. Christian Bale is superb as Wayne/Batman and Michael Caine is as good as ever. Cillian Murphy ...
