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Christian Bale

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   CAPTION: Christian Bale

      Born:    January 30, 1974
               Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales
   Occupation: Actor

   Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian
   Morgan Bale; born January 30, 1974) is an English actor who is known
   for his roles in the films Empire of the Sun, American Psycho, The
   Prestige,and Batman Begins. Bale is also known for his versatility as
   an actor, including mimicking accents, harsh regimens of shedding and
   gaining weight (particularly for The Machinist, Batman Begins, and,
   most recently, Rescue Dawn), and generally inhabiting the characters he
   plays. Before he found success in playing Batman, he was heavily
   involved in independent film.

   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 a
   British boy who becomes separated from his parents and subsequently
   finds himself 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. Entertainment Weekly also called Bale one of the "Most
   Creative People in Entertainment", after his performance in American
   Psycho.

Early life

   Christian Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, the youngest of four
   children, to English parents, the businessman David Bale and circus
   performer Jenny James. Bale spent his childhood in several countries
   including the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the United States. David
   Bale was the driving force behind Christian Bale’s entry into acting,
   and his resignation from his job as a commercial pilot allowed him to
   fulfill a desire to travel the world and manage his son’s burgeoning
   career. The Bale family left Wales in 1976, when Christian Bale was two
   years of age. Having a mother who made her living at a circus was an
   interesting experience for him; he recalled receiving his first kiss
   from an acrobat named Barta. As a child, he trained in ballet and on
   the guitar. His sister Louise's work in theatre also influenced his
   decision to become an actor. Bale's family settled for four years in
   Bournemouth, where he attended Bournemouth School and participated
   actively in rugby.

   Bale’s first foray into acting was a Lenor commercial in 1982, when he
   was 8. He appeared in a Pac-Man cereal commercial playing a child rock
   star a year later. In 1984, he made his stage debut in the West End
   play The Nerd, opposite Rowan Atkinson.

Career

   He made his film debut as Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia in the
   made-for-television film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna in 1986, which
   was followed by leading roles in the miniseries Heart of the Country
   and the fantasy adventure Mio in the Land of Faraway, in which he
   appeared for the first time with Christopher Lee.

   In 1987, Amy Irving, his co-star in Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna,
   recommended Bale to her husband, Steven Spielberg, for a role in Empire
   of the Sun, adapted from the J.G. Ballard semi- autobiography. Bale's
   performance as James Graham earned him widespread critical praise and
   the first ever "Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor" award from the
   National Board of Review of Motion Pictures (the Board created the
   award for him). The attention the press and his schoolmates lavished
   upon him after this took a toll on Bale, and he contemplated giving up
   acting, until Kenneth Branagh approached him, and persuaded him to
   appear in Henry V in 1989.

2000s

   In 1999, Bale prepared to undertake what would arguably be his most
   acclaimed role. Director Mary Harron, who had previously helmed the
   Valerie Solanas biopic I Shot Andy Warhol, was given the reins to the
   adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ controversial novel, American Psycho,
   but dropped out of the project when she learned Leonardo DiCaprio was
   set to star instead of Bale, her first choice. Harron cited budget
   concerns, believing DiCaprio to be too expensive for the production.
   Oliver Stone replaced Harron as director, but when DiCaprio abandoned
   the project for The Beach, Stone left as well, and a pregnant Harron
   was contracted once more, this time with her wish for Bale to star
   granted. Bale played Patrick Bateman, the title character of the novel
   and film. Bale had never read the novel before being contacted about
   the film, but took on the role because he was surprised and humoured by
   the script, which he described as “the opposite of anything I’d ever
   done before.” Harron’s decision to cast Bale lay in that she thought he
   resembled a male Lili Taylor “in the sense that there was a lot below
   the surface,” and that “he had a sense of mystery and depth in his
   face.”

   The film diverged from the novel in some instances, but was generally
   faithful. Bateman was, on the outward, a stereotypical yuppie, but
   underneath the public image he had created for himself he was actually
   a murderous psychopath. Bale researched Bateman by studying the novel.
   He prepared himself physically for the role by spending months tanning
   and exercising rigorously in order to achieve Bateman’s Olympian
   physique, even going so far as to distance himself from the cast and
   crew in order to preserve the darker side of Bateman’s character.
   American Psycho premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival to much
   controversy. Famed American critic Roger Ebert seemed to condemn the
   film at first, calling it “film pornography” and “the most loathed film
   at Sundance,” but gave it a favourable review, writing that Harron
   “transformed a novel about blood lust into a movie about men’s vanity.”
   Of Bale’s performance, he wrote, “Christian Bale is heroic in the way
   he allows the character to leap joyfully into despicability; there is
   no instinct for self-preservation here, and that is one mark of a good
   actor.”

   On April 14, 2000, Lions Gate Film finally released American Psycho in
   theatres. The film’s overall budget and marketing costs amounted to
   US$17,000,000. It made a tidy worldwide profit of US$34,266,564. More
   importantly, it strengthened Bale’s reputation as a committed and
   capable actor, and further cemented his cult status. Bale was
   approached to make a cameo appearance in another Bret Easton Ellis
   adaptation, The Rules of Attraction, which was loosely connected to
   American Psycho. He declined out of loyalty to Mary Harron’s vision of
   Bateman, which he felt could not be properly expressed by anyone else.

   In the 2000 sequel to 1971's Shaft, Bale played a villainous character
   similar to Patrick Bateman, an unhinged racist yuppie named Walter
   Wade, Jr., a decision which generated observations about the two roles
   being too alike. Bale acknowledged that perhaps taking on such a
   similar role so soon was a possible mistake on his part.

   Bale played an assortment of diverse characters from 2001 onwards. His
   first role after American Psycho was in the John Madden adaptation of
   the best-selling novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin, which was a
   significant departure from the novel. Bale played Mandras, a Greek
   fisherman who vied with Nicolas Cage’s title character for the
   affections of the desirable Pelagia ( Penelope Cruz). The Mandras of
   the novel was a more developed character with his own subplot; Bale’s
   Mandras was relegated to a supporting character, and his subplot was
   eliminated, much of the camera being devoted to Corelli and Pelagia.
   Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was Bale’s second time working with John
   Hurt, after All the Little Animals.

   2002 was a busy and disappointing year for Bale. He starred in three
   feature films, none of which were successful at the box office. Laurel
   Canyon (2002), an independent film about love and longing, divided
   critics. The film’s script and the director’s ego were questioned, but
   critics, by and large, agreed that Frances McDormand outshone the rest
   of the cast, including Bale.

   Reign of Fire was Bale’s first action vehicle. It had an immense budget
   (over US$90,000,000) compared to all his previous work. The film’s plot
   involved a fire-breathing dragon that had been awakened from
   hibernation, bringing with it thousands more that threatened the world.
   Bale entered into negotiations about starring in the film with
   reservations, but director Rob Bowman convinced him to take the lead
   role. Bale starred as Quinn Abercromby opposite Matthew McConaughey’s
   Denton Van Zan, two heroes with identical goals but different methods.
   Bale and McConaughey trained for their respective roles by boxing and
   working out. But the film was largely panned by critics, failed at the
   U.S. box office and contributed to Bale’s growing depression.

   Equilibrium was Bale’s third film of 2002 and it landed a potentially
   severe blow to his career, costing US$20,000,000 to produce but earning
   just over US$5,000,000 worldwide. Dimension Films never issued
   Equilibrium a wide release, lacking faith in promoting it.
   Nevertheless, it gained a cult following that grew so large director
   Kurt Wimmer was granted a US$30,000,000 budget to direct Ultraviolet.
   Bale played John Preston, an elite lawman in a dystopian,
   post-apocalyptic society. Equilibrium featured a fictional martial art
   called Gun Kata—inspired by The Matrix and John Woo’s films—that
   combined gunfighting with hand-to-hand combat. Preston was a master of
   Gun Kata, which made him a particularly memorable protagonist.
   Preston’s fanbase was so strong a number of them banded together to
   develop a total conversion mod for the computer game Max Payne 2 dubbed
   Hall of Mirrors. According to moviebodycounts.com, the character of
   John Preston has the most onscreen kills in a single movie ever. His
   kill-o-meter is set at 118, exactly half the movie total of 236.

   After a year’s hiatus, Bale returned in 2004 to play Trevor Reznik, the
   title character in the psychological thriller The Machinist. Reznik was
   an insomniac, tormented by a mysterious stalker. 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 skeletal appearance for the
   sake of an authentic, naturalistic performance. (In one scene, Jennifer
   Jason Leigh’s character quipped, “If you were any thinner, you wouldn’t
   exist.”) He went without proper rest for prolonged periods, and placed
   himself on a crash diet that saw his weight dropping by a startling
   sixty pounds in a matter of months. He was compared to Robert DeNiro,
   whose alternate weight-gaining regimen saw him putting on fifty-five
   pounds for his role as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. Bale took the
   Reznik role because the script “intrigued” him, and it helped him cope
   with his depression. The Machinist garnered mostly positive
   reviews—critics were impressed by Bale’s dedication—but received its
   share of criticism. Dennis Lim of the Village Voice wrote that he
   thought Bale’s performance was “a sort of super-downsize-me stunt,
   pitched at South Beach Dieting academy voters who may well find his
   nutritional masochism even sexier than Charlize Theron's post- Krispy
   Kreme rebirth.” Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail wrote, “…what’s left
   of Bale isn’t pretty, but it is mesmerizing, and I think his
   performance can be safely described as uncompromising. Too bad it's not
   in the service of a better movie.” And Ty Burr of The Boston Globe
   wrote, “The main, if not only, reason to see The Machinist is for
   Christian Bale's title performance, and even then you have to be a fan
   of hardcore martyrdom in the service of craft.” The Machinist was a
   humble production, costing roughly US$5,000,000 to produce. It was
   given only a limited U.S. release and made most of its profits
   overseas.

   Bale, an admirer of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, was cast as the
   voice of the title character, Howl, in the English language dub of the
   Japanese director's fantasy anime adventure Howl's Moving Castle, an
   adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ children's novel. Its profits in the
   United States made up a mere US$4,711,096 in of its staggering
   worldwide gross (US$230,458,788). Bale’s Howl, a wizard who lived in a
   spectacular walking castle, was debonair, princely and ostentatious, a
   quality shared with one half of Bale’s next role.

   Bale was cast as one of the two leads in the South Central David
   Ayer-hemled crime drama Harsh Times, co-starring with Freddy Rodriguez.
   Bale played Jim David, a grim Gulf War veteran afflicted with
   post-traumatic stress disorder, inexplicably approached by the
   Department of Homeland Security and hired as a federal agent. Harsh
   Times premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and is
   slated for wide release on November 10, 2006.

   Terrence Malick directed The New World, a period piece inspired by the
   stories of Pocahontas, and Bale was cast as John Rolfe, his second time
   participating in a dramatization of Pocahontas. He shared the screen
   with Colin Farrell and Q'Orianka Kilcher, who played lovers John Smith
   and Pocahontas. The majority of screen time was devoted to Farrell and
   Kilcher; Bale was a secondary character, and only appeared during the
   last third. The New World left critics to contend whether its
   indulgence and the dramatic liberties it took over historical accuracy
   made the film a champion or a dud. Opinions were extremely divided.
   Filmgoers were uninterested. 'The film was a failure at the U.S. box
   office and its worldwide total (US$29,506,437) fell just short of
   turning a profit (the production budget was placed at US$30,000,000).

   Bale has a trio of projects lined up for 2006. Rescue Dawn by German
   filmmaker Werner Herzog will have him playing a U.S. Fighter pilot who
   has to fight for his life after being shot down while on a mission
   during the Vietnam War. Bale left a strong impression on Herzog, with
   the director complimenting his acting abilities: "I find him one of the
   greatest talents of his generation. We made up our own minds long
   before he did Batman." In The Prestige, an adaptation of the
   Christopher Priest novel about a rivalry between two Victorian stage
   magicians, Bale reunites with Michael Caine and Christopher Nolan, who
   is directing the film. The Prestige’s cast also includes Hugh Jackman,
   Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, and David Bowie. I'm Not There, a
   film that sees Bale working again with Colin Farrell, is an artistic
   reflection of the life of Bob Dylan, and also includes Cate Blanchett,
   Richard Gere, Julianne Moore, and Charlotte Gainsbourg as part of the
   cast.

Batman

   Bale had long been a contender to portray Batman, from as early as
   2002. Earlier on, he had auditioned for the role of Robin in Batman
   Forever, but lost out to Chris O'Donnell. In 2004, after completing
   filming for The Machinist, Bale won the coveted role and was set to
   star with the predominantly British and Irish cast of Liam Neeson,
   Katie Holmes, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkinson, Gary
   Oldman, Rutger Hauer, and Cillian Murphy in the Christopher
   Nolan-helmed Batman Begins, a complete restart of the Batman mythos
   without any ties to the Burton or Schumacher visions. Bale beat out
   Jake Gyllenhaal, the closest competition. (evening the score, as Bale
   lost the part of Anthony Swofford in Jarhead to Gyllenhaal.) Still
   fresh from The Machinist, it became necessary for Bale to bulk up to
   match the powerful physique of Batman. He was given a deadline of six
   months to do this. Bale recalled it as far from a simple
   accomplishment: “…when it actually came to building muscle, I was
   useless. I couldn’t do one push up the first day. All of the muscles
   were gone, so I had a real tough time rebuilding all of that.” With the
   help of a personal trainer, Bale succeeded in meeting the deadline,
   gaining exactly one hundred pounds in six months. He then worked toward
   converting most of it into muscle.

   Bale had initial concerns about playing Batman, as he felt more
   ridiculous than intimidating in the Batman costume. He dealt with this
   by depicting Batman as a savage beast in his portrayal. To attain a
   deeper understanding of the character, Bale perused various Batman
   comic books. He explained his interpretation of the Dark Knight:
   “Batman is his hidden, demonic rage-filled side. The Batman creature
   [Wayne] creates is an absolutely sincere creature and one that he has
   to control but does so in a very haphazard way. He's capable of
   enacting violence – and to kill – so he's constantly having to rein
   himself in.” For Bale, the most grueling part about playing Batman was
   the costume. “You stick it on, you get hot, you sweat and you get a
   headache in the cowl,” he said. “But I'm not going to bitch about it
   because I get to play Batman.” When promoting the film in interviews
   and public events, Bale retained Bruce Wayne’s American accent to avoid
   confusion with Batman being a Briton.

   Batman Begins was released domestically on June 15, 2005 to wide
   critical, fan and public approval. Nolan was commended for choosing to
   film most of Begins more traditionally by opting for live-action
   special effects whenever possible in an age where CGI was economical
   and believable. The cast was praised for its effective portrayals, but
   Bale drew the most acclaim for his dual portrayal of both Batman and
   Bruce Wayne. He earned the Best Hero award at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards
   for his performance.

   Batman Begins was a domestic and international triumph for Warner
   Bros., costing approximately US$135,000,000 to produce and taking in
   over US$370,000,000 in returns worldwide. The Dark Knight, the sequel
   to Batman Begins, is in production, with Bale set to reprise his role
   as Batman and Heath Ledger set to play his famous archnemesis The
   Joker. It is expected to complete filming sometime in 2008. A Batman
   Begins video game was also developed for the GameCube, PlayStation 2,
   Xbox, and Game Boy Advance; Bale provided the voice of Batman.

Personal life

   On January 29, 2000, Bale married Sibi Blazic (an independent film
   producer, and formerly a model, make-up artist, and personal assistant
   to Winona Ryder). He now lives with her in Los Angeles. Together they
   have a daughter who was born on March 27, 2005 in Santa Monica,
   California. Bale, notoriously private, has not publicly divulged her
   name, though they have reportedly named her Emmaline.

   Bale has three older sisters – Erin Bale, a musician; Sharon Bale, a
   computer professional; and Louise Bale, a theatre actress and director.
   The Bale family is deeply rooted in show business, especially theatre.
   Bale is a distant relative of British actress Lillie Langtry, while his
   uncle, Rex Bale, and maternal grandfather were actors as well. He has
   one son, Taylor.

   Like his father David, Bale is known as a conservationist and an animal
   lover, and is a supporter of conservation and animal welfare groups
   like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. Bale gained the famous
   feminist activist Gloria Steinem as a stepmother through his father’s
   marriage to her on September 3, 2000, before his death in 2003.
   Ironically, Steinem was one of the most vocal opponents of Bret Easton
   Ellis's novel American Psycho.

Filmography

   Year                Film                        Role           Other notes
   2008 The Dark Knight                     Bruce Wayne/Batman  Pre-production
   2007 3:10 to Yuma                        Dan Evans           Pre-production
        I'm Not There                       Unknown role        Post-production
   2006 The Prestige                        Alfred Borden
        Rescue Dawn                         Dieter
        Harsh Times                         Jim Davis
   2005 The New World                       John Rolfe
        Batman Begins                       Bruce Wayne/Batman
   2004 Howl's Moving Castle                Howl
        The Machinist                       Trevor Reznik
   2002 Equilibrium                         Cleric John Preston
        Reign of Fire                       Quinn Abercromby
        Laurel Canyon                       Sam
   2001 Captain Corelli's Mandolin          Mandras
   2000 Shaft                               Walter Wade, Jr.
        American Psycho                     Patrick Bateman
   1999 Mary, Mother of Jesus (TV)          Jesus of Nazareth
        A Midsummer Night's Dream           Demetrius
   1998 All the Little Animals              Bobby Platt
        Velvet Goldmine                     Arthur Stuart
   1997 Metroland                           Chris
   1996 The Portrait of a Lady              Edward Rosier
        The Secret Agent                    Stevie
   1995 Pocahontas                          Thomas
   1994 Little Women                        Laurie
        Prince of Jutland                   Amled
   1993 Swing Kids                          Thomas Berger
   1992 Newsies                             Jack “Cowboy” Kelly
   1991 A Murder of Quality (TV)            Tim Perkins
   1990 Treasure Island (TV)                Jim Hawkins
   1989 Henry V                             Falstaff’s Boy
   1987 Empire of the Sun                   Jim Graham
        Mio in the Land of Faraway          Jum-Jum
        Heart of the Country (mini)         Ben Harris
   1986 Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (TV) Alexei
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