Christian Bale

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born January 30, 1974) is a Welsh actor from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. Bale gained fame when cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun at the age of 13. Recently, Bale has earned praise as the newest Batman in 2005's Batman Begins, co-starring Sir Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy, both of whom also earned sterling reviews.

Biography

Christian Bale was born to the late David Bale (who was married to Gloria Steinem) and Jenny Bale, who was a circus performer. He has three older sisters: Erin Bale-Kreunen (a musician), Sharon Bale (a computer professional) and Louise Bale (a director/actress). Bale spent his childhood in a variety of countries including the UK, Portugal and the United States.

Related Topics:
David Bale - Gloria Steinem - UK - Portugal - United States

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He began his acting career by appearing in a Pac-man cereal advertisement in the UK at age 9 and then appeared a year later in the West End play The Nerd. His breakthrough came in 1987 when he was picked for the role of Jim in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. He next appeared in Henry V and TV roles before taking on several movie projects in row starting in 1992 with the Disney musical Newsies. For this role and his role in the 1993 film Swing Kids Bale trained for 10 weeks in dancing and martial arts.

Related Topics:
Pac-man - Cereal - West End - 1987 - Steven Spielberg - Empire of the Sun - Henry V - 1992 - Disney - Musical - Newsies - 1993 - Swing Kids

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After this he drew further attention when he won the much-coveted role of Laurie in Little Women, having been hand-picked for the role by Winona Ryder,who was set to play Jo in the film. He has since won roles in notable films such as Velvet Goldmine and the lead in American Psycho. He recently played the title role in Batman Begins to critical acclaim.

Related Topics:
Little Women - Winona Ryder - Velvet Goldmine - American Psycho - Batman Begins

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