Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Forbes magazine ranked him as one of the highest-paid actors in 2014. Born in Wales to English parents, Bale had his breakthrough role at age 13 in Steven Spielberg's 1987 war film Empire of the Sun. After more than a decade of performing in leading and supporting roles in films, he gained wider recognition for his portrayals of serial killer Patrick Bateman in the black comedy American Psycho (2000) and the titular role in the psychological thriller The Machinist (2004). In 2005, he played superhero Batman in Batman Begins and again in The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), garnering acclaim for his performance in the trilogy, which is one of the highest-grossing film franchises. Bale continued in starring roles in a range of films outside his work as Batman, including the period drama The Prestige (2006), the action film Terminator Salvation (2009), the crime drama Public Enemies (2009), the epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) and the superhero film Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). For his portrayal of boxer Dicky Eklund in the 2010 biographical film The Fighter, he won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Further Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations came for his work in the black comedy American Hustle (2013) and the biographical dramedies The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). His performances as politician Dick Cheney in Vice and race car driver Ken Miles in the sports drama Ford v Ferrari (2019) earned him a second win and a fifth nomination respectively at the Golden Globe Awards.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · The Bride! as Frankenstein's Monster
- 2022 · The Pale Blue Eye as Augustus Landor
- 2022 · Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer as Self
- 2022 · Amsterdam as Burt Berendsen
- 2022 · Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Thor: Love and Thunder as Self - Gorr
- 2022 · Thor: Love and Thunder as Gorr
- 2021 · Catwoman: The Feline Femme Fatale as Self
- 2020 · Joker: Put on a Happy Face as Self
- 2020 · Ford v Ferrari: Bringing the Rivalry to Life as Self
- 2019 · Ford v Ferrari as Ken Miles
- 2018 · Vice as Dick Cheney
- 2018 · Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle as Bagheera (voice)
- 2017 · Hostiles as Captain Joseph J. Blocker
- 2017 · Spielberg as Self - Segment "Empire of the Sun"
- 2016 · The Promise as Chris Myers
- 2015 · The Big Short as Michael Burry
- 2015 · Knight of Cups as Rick
- 2015 · Keepers of the Covenant: Making 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' as Self
- 2014 · Exodus: Gods and Kings as Moses
- 2013 · American Hustle as Irving Rosenfeld
- 2013 · Out of the Furnace as Russell Baze
- 2013 · The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy as Self (archive footage)
- 2012 · Ending the Knight as Self
- 2012 · The Dark Knight Rises as Bruce Wayne
- 2012 · The Batmobile as Self
- 2012 · Honest Trailers as Patrick Bateman (archive footage)
- 2012 · Honest Trailers as Bruce Wayne / Batman (archive footage)
- 2011 · The Flowers of War as John Miller
- 2011 · 张艺谋和他的金陵十三钗 as
- 2010 · The Fighter as Dicky Eklund
- 2009 · Michael Mann: Making 'Public Enemies' as Self
- 2009 · Public Enemies as Melvin Purvis
- 2009 · Heath Ledger: A Tribute as Self
- 2009 · Terminator Salvation as John Connor
- 2008 · The Dark Knight as Bruce Wayne
- 2008 · Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight as Self
- 2008 · Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene as Self
- 2008 · Gotham Tonight as Bruce Wayne
- 2007 · Making of a True Story: Rescue Dawn as Self
- 2007 · I'm Not There as Jack / Pastor John
- 2007 · 3:10 to Yuma as Dan Evans
- 2007 · The Director's Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher Nolan as Self
- 2006 · The Prestige as Alfred Borden
- 2006 · Rescue Dawn as Dieter Dengler
- 2005 · The New World as John Rolfe
- 2005 · Harsh Times as Jim Luther Davis
- 2005 · Batman Begins as Bruce Wayne / Batman
- 2005 · Tankman Begins as Batman (archive footage)
- 2004 · The Machinist as Trevor Reznik
- 2003 · Laurel Canyon as Sam
- 2002 · Equilibrium as John Preston
- 2002 · Reign of Fire as Quinn Abercromby
- 2001 · Captain Corelli's Mandolin as Mandras
- 2000 · Shaft as Walter Wade, Jr.
- 2000 · American Psycho as Patrick Bateman
- 2000 · Shaft: Still the Man as Self
- 1999 · Mary, Mother of Jesus as Jesus of Nazareth
- 1999 · The Early Show as Self
- 1999 · All the Little Animals as Bobby Platt
- 1999 · A Midsummer Night's Dream as Demetrius
- 1999 · The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn as Self - Guest
- 1998 · Dying to Tell the Story as Narrator / Dan Eldon (uncredited) (voice)
- 1998 · Velvet Goldmine as Arthur Stuart
- 1997 · Metroland as Chris
- 1996 · The Secret Agent as Stevie
- 1996 · The Portrait of a Lady as Edward Rosier
- 1996 · E! True Hollywood Story as Self (archive footage)
- 1996 · Critics Choice Awards as Self - Nominee (credit only)
- 1995 · Pocahontas as Thomas (voice)
- 1994 · Little Women as Laurie
- 1994 · Royal Deceit as Amled
- 1993 · Swing Kids as Thomas Berger
- 1993 · GMTV as Self
- 1992 · HBO First Look as Self
- 1992 · MTV Movie & TV Awards as Self / Presenter
- 1992 · Newsies as Jack 'Cowboy' Kelly
- 1991 · A Murder of Quality as Tim Perkins
- 1991 · Blood Drips Heavily on Newsie Square as Self
- 1990 · Treasure Island as Jim Hawkins
- 1989 · Henry V as Robin the Luggage-Boy
- 1987 · The China Odyssey: Empire of the Sun as Self
- 1987 · Empire of the Sun as Jim
- 1987 · Mio in the Land of Faraway as Jum-Jum / Benke
- 1987 · Heart of the Country as Ben Harris
- 1987 · Citizen Steve as Self - Actor
- 1986 · Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna as Tsarevich Alexei
- 1982 · Wogan as Self
- 1981 · Entertainment Tonight as Self
- Future · Best Of Enemies as Gennady Vasilenko
- Future · Gaming the System: The Making of 'Vice' as Self