Christian Bale Biography

MARITAL STATUS
Professions Actor , Producer , Assistant editor more
Birth name Christian Charles Philip Bale
Nationalities British, American
Born January 30, 1974 (Pembrokshire, Wales, United Kingdom)

BIOGRAPHY
Originally from Wales, Christian Bale appeared in commercials at the age of 8 and made his acting debut at the age of 10, playing in the theater in The Nerd , alongside Rowan Atkinson . In 1987, he made his first film, the fantasy tale Mio Min Mio and landed the lead role in Steven Spielberg ‘s fresco , Empire of the Sun. His portrayal of a young orphan detained in a Japanese concentration camp earned him unanimous reviews. His career launched, he distinguished himself in a few costume films such as Henry V (1991) by Kenneth Branagh , The Four Daughters of Doctor March (1995), Portrait of a Lady (1996) by Jane Campion or even the adaptation of the novel L Secret Agent (1997) by Joseph Conrad , before immersing himself in the world of glam rock for the needs of Velvet Goldmine (1998).

Without ever having been to the Actor’s Studio, Bale adopted the doctrine of training, which requires an actor to physically immerse himself in his character. In the 2000s, he pushed his body to its limits by alternating between bodybuilding and severe diets. He pioneered this method by playing the murderous golden-boy in American Psycho , then lost weight to play Captain Corelli , who leads an Italian garrison during World War II. He then returned to the sport for two futuristic films: The Hothead of the Reign of Fire (2002) and Equilibrium (2003). But his most impressive performance came when he lost 60 pounds to play the worn-out, insomniac worker in The Machinist .

In 2005, the actor took on one of the most coveted roles in Hollywood: that of Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins , by Christopher Nolan . The start of a trilogy, a hit at the global box office, which will see the birth of The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight in 2008, and The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. Between these masked performances, Bale continues to abuse his body. The proof is his meeting with the diehard Werner Herzog , who hires him for Rescue Dawn . Bale’s character visibly lost weight during his journey, and the actor lost nearly 25 kilos throughout filming.

Batman is not the only franchise he is relaunching: he is called upon to play John Connor in Terminator Renaissance (2009). In a different register, he remains faithful to Christopher Nolan and Todd Haynes , for whom he shoots The Prestige (2006) and I’m Not There (2007) respectively. Appreciating historical films and costumes, we find him bearded with long hair opposite Colin Farrell in The New World (2006) by Terrence Malick , and opposite Russell Crowe in the western remake 3h10 for Yuma (2008). Systematically changing his look, he is short haired and beardless against Johnny Depp in Public Enemies (2009) by Michael Mann .

After these rather physical roles, Bale once again decided to go through the “diet” box, in order to melt all his muscles, and stick as closely as possible to his character in Fighter (2010), an ex-boxer who became a trainer and addict . on crack. His performance earned him numerous awards, including a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Following this recognition of the profession, he donned the costume of Batman one last time for the conclusion of Christopher Nolan ‘s trilogy : The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

At the beginning of 2014, the actor appeared in two films: he tried to avenge his brother Casey Affleck , murdered by Woody Harrelson in The Blazes of Wrath by Scott Cooper , and reunited with David O. Russell via American Bluff , for which he took 18 kilos. Definitely a fan of roles where his body is put to the test, Christian Bale films under the direction of Ridley Scott in the epic Exodus: Gods And Kings , where he plays Moses. He also starred opposite Terrence Malick in Knight of Cups before being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Big Short .

In 2017, he reunited with Scott Cooper for the violent western Hostiles . The Welshman then appears unrecognizable in the skin of politician Dick Cheney in Vice , and plays a daredevil driver in the biopic Le Mans 66 alongside Matt Damon . In 2020, he was cast as the big bad Gorr in Thor: Love and Thunder, thus giving Chris Hemsworth a hard time .