Christian Bale BiographyChristian Charles Philip Bale born 30 January 1974 is an English actor.In addition to starring in big budget Hollywood films, he has played in films produced by independent producers and art houses.
Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13, when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. He played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II . He is notable for portraying Bruce Wayne in the Batman films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, as well as yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.
In 2010, Bale starred in the biopic-drama film The Fighter. For his role as Dicky Ward, he won extensive critical acclaim and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, among other accolades.
Bale was born in Wales to parents of English descent. His South African-born father, David Bale, was an entrepreneur, commercial pilot, and talent manager, and his mother, Jenny James, was a performer.He is the youngest of four children. After leaving Britain in 1976, Bale spent his childhood in several countries, including Portugal and the United States.
Settling for four years in Bournemouth and Henley-on-Thames, Bale was educated at Shiplake Church of England Primary School; the independent Dolphin School, Berkshire; and at Bournemouth School. He played rugby. Bale has described his childhood, with respect to his mother being in the circus, as "interesting". He recalled his first kiss was with an acrobat named Barta.
As a child, he trained in ballet and guitar. His sister Louise's work in theatre also influenced his decision to become an actor. Bale's father was very supportive of his son's acting, resigning from his job as a commercial pilot to travel and manage Bale's burgeoning career. The elder Bale later married feminist icon Gloria Steinem, He passed away, at age 62, on 30 December 2003 from brain lymphoma.
Bale's first foray into acting was a commercial for the fabric softener Lenor in 1982, when he was 8 years old.A year later, he appeared in a Pac-Man cereal commercial playing a child rock star. In 1984, he made his stage debut in The Nerd, opposite Rowan Atkinson
