Christian Bale

At 50 years old, Christian Bale has this physical status:

Career

Bale earned a minor role in the 1986 television film Anastasia: The Mysterious of Anna, after deciding to become an actor at the age of ten. Amy Irving, the actress who was married to director Steven Spielberg, later recommended Bale for Spielberg's 1987 film Empire of the Sun. Bale was selected from over 4,000 actors to portray a British boy in a World War II Japanese internment camp at the age of 13. He spoke with an upper-class cadence in the film without the assistance of a dialogue coach. Bale came to prominence, and the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures' inaugural Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor Award was given to him. He appeared in Mio, My Son by Astrid Lindgren earlier this year. Bale was mocked in school and discovered the pressures of being an actor unaffordable due to the glamorious success of Empire of the Sun. He became suspicious of the acting profession owing to media coverage, but he said he felt obligated to act for financial reasons even at a young age. Around this time, actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh begged Bale to appear in his 1989 film Henry V, which brought him right back to acting. Bale appeared in Treasure Island, a television film version of Robert Louis Stevenson's book of the same name, for the next year.

Bale appeared in the 1992 Disney musical film Newsies, which was both unsuccessful at the box office and among critics. Even though she wasn't a natural performer, Rebecca Milzoff of Vulture revisited the film in 2012 and discovered the cracks in Bale's voice during his appearance of "Santa Fe" was charming and apt. He appeared in Swing Kids, a film about teenagers who secretly listen to forbidden jazz during Nazi Germany's heyday. Bale played Theodore "Laurie" Laurence in Gillian Armstrong's 1994 film Little Women, following a suggestion from Winona Ryder, who appeared as Jo March. The film was a huge hit in terms of artistic and commercial success. Ryder portrayed Bale's performance, capturing the character's complex nature. In the 1995 Disney animated film Pocahontas, Thomas, a teenage compatriot of Captain John Smith, received a mixed critical reception, he next spoke to Thomas. Bale appeared in the 1996 documentary film Portrait of a Lady, based on the Henry James novel of the same name, and appeared in the 1998 musical film Velvet Goldmine set in the 1970s during the glam rock period. In 1999, he was part of an ensemble cast starring Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer, as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream, a film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name.

In American Psycho, a film version of Bret Easton Ellis' book of the same name directed by Mary Harron, Bale played Patrick Bateman, an investment banker and serial killer. Although Harron had selected Bale for the role, Lionsgate's production and distribution company, Lionsgate, originally disagreed, finding Leonardo DiCaprio to direct Bateman with Oliver Stone as the actor. After DiCaprio and Stone had left the project, Bale and Harron were pushed back. Bale tanned himself for months to achieve Bateman's chiseled figure and had his teeth capped to conform to the character's narcissistic appearance. At the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, an American Psycho was premiered. Roger Ebert, a Harron, dubbed it the most hated film at the festival, according to Harron. In Bale's case, Ebert wrote, "is heroic in the way he allows the character to soar into despicability; there is no such thing as a good actor." The film was released in April 2000, becoming a commercial and critical success, with later developing a cult following; Bale was regarded as a leading man in the region.

Bale's career was marred by both academic and commercial failure in the four years that followed American Psychological. In John Singleton's film adaptation of Captain Corelli's Mandras as a Greek fisherman vying for Pelagia's affections, played by Penélope Cruz, he next played a villainous real estate heir. After working on American Psycho and Shaft, Bale said it was refreshing to play Mandras, who is physically human. He appeared in three films in 2002: Laurel Canyon, Reign of Fire, and Equilibrium. Lisa Schwarzbaum, a columnist for Entertainment Weekly, calls Bale's appearance "fussy." Bale confessed to his delight in making films that might go awry, quoting director Rob Bowman as a reason for his participation, after being skeptical about joining the post-apocalyptic Reign of Fire, which involved computer-generated pictures. He plays a police officer in a futuristic society and performs a gun kata, a fictional martial art that incorporates gunfighting. Jeff Otto of IGN characterized Reign of Fire as "poorly acknowledged" and Equilibrium as "highly underrated," according to Stephen Applebaum of The Independent, who also characterized the two films as "poorly received" and "highly underrated" in Gowan's Mandolin, as "poorly received" and Equilibrium as "highly underrated."

Bale appeared in The Machinist, as the insomnia-ridden, emotionally dysfunctional title character. He started smoking cigarettes and drank whiskey to prepare for the job. Black coffee, an apple, and a can of tuna per day were among his meals that were later expanded to include black coffee, an apple, and a can of tuna per day. Bale weighed 121 pounds (55 kg) to play the role, who was described as "a walking skeleton" in the script. In preparation to play Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film Raging Bull, his weight loss prompted comparisons with Robert De Niro's weight gain. Bale, who described his transformation as physically calming, said he had stopped acting for a while because he didn't come across scripts that piqued his curiosity and that the film's script caused him to lose weight for the role. The Machinist was launched in October 2004; it did poorly at the box office. Bale's "haunted, brashing role" gave it a "strong anchor," according to Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel, and Variety's Todd McCarthy said of it.

In Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, a reboot of the Batman film series, Bale portrayed American billionaire Bruce Wayne and his superhero alias Batman. Bale was portrayed by Nolan, who was still in the dark at the time, because Bale had "exactly the right balance of shadow and light" Nolan desired. Bale regained the weight he lost for The Machinist and muscle built muscle, weighing 220 pounds (100 kg). He trained in weapons, Wing Chun Kung Fu, and the Basicsi Combat Method. Bale said he and Nolan had deliberately approached it with "as realistic a motivation as possible" referring to Wayne's parents' murder. Wayne and Batman were described differently by Bale. Nolan believed that his character's physical appearance was enhanced by his gravelly tone characteristics for Batman. In June 2005, Batman Begins was first released in the United States. Vulture's Tim Grierson and Will Leitch lauded Bale's "sensitive, thoughtful portrayal of a spoiled, wayward Bruce who finally rises above (and fights crime). Bale was voted MTV Movie Award for Best Hero for his work.

Bale narrated the titular Howl, a wizard, in Hayao Miyazaki's Moving Castle, a Japanese animated film version of Diana Wynne Jones' children's book of the same name in the same year. After watching Miyazaki's animated film Spirited Away, he decided to sing the role. In the David Ayer-helmed crime drama Harsh Times, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival later this year, he starred as a US war veteran struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. In The New World, a historical drama film influenced by Pocahontas' tales, directed by Terrence Malick, he portrayed colonist John Rolfe. On December 25, 2005, the film was released. The premiere of Rescue Dawn, directed by German filmmaker Werner Herzog, in which Bale portrayed US fighter pilot Dieter Dengler, who fights for his life after being shot down while on a mission during the Vietnam War, was the beginning of the year. Herzog said Bale had been one of his generation's best performers long before he played Batman. Bale's work was seen as part of his "masterful command of yet another American personality type," according to Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle.

Bale appeared in the 2006 film The Prestige, reunited Bale with Batman Begins producer Nolan, who said that Bale was cast after he had accepted himself for the role. It is based on Christopher Priest's book The rivalry between two Victorian era magicians, which Bale and Hugh Jackman appear in the film. Despite gaining critical acclaim, the film managed more modestly during its run in theaters, grossing $110 million against a $40 million budget. A. O. Scott's analysis for The New York Times highlighted Bale's "fierce inwardness" and called his result "something to savor" and "something to savor." Bale appeared in the 2007 drama film I'm Not There, a sequel to singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's two incarnations, as well as in the 3:10 to Yuma, portraying a justice-seeking cattleman. He characterized his Dylan incarnations as "two guys on a real quest for truth" and credited his interest in 3:10 to Yuma's desire for films in which he could "just be filthy and crawling in the mud." Bale reimagined Batman in Nolan's Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight, which received acclaim and became the fourth film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide upon its release in July 2008. He undertook several of his own stunts, one of which involved standing on the roof of the Sears Tower in Chicago. Critics also rate the Dark Knight as the best superhero film ever.

Warner Bros. announced in February 2008 that Bale would appear in the post-apocalyptic action film Terminator Salvation, directed by McG, who referred to Bale as "the most credible actor of his time." An audio recording of a tirade involving Bale was released in February 2009. Shane Hurlbut, the film's cinematographer, walked onto the scene during the filming of a scene starring Bale and Bryce Dallas Howard, who threatened to leave the film if Hurlbut was not fired. Multiple coworkers in the film industry defended Bale, blaming the incident to his dedication to acting. Bale apologised in February 2009, calling the outburst "inexcusable" and his conduct "way out of order" and adamant to have made amends with Hurlbut. Terminator Salvation was introduced in May 2009 to scathing reviews. Bale's work was described as "most one-dimensional," Claudia Puig of USA Today, while The Age's Jake Wilson wrote about him as one of his least convincing performances. Bale later admitted that he knew during development that the film would not revitalize the Terminator franchise as he wanted. He has confirmed that he would not return to McG to work with them again.

In Michael Mann's crime drama Public Enemies, Melvin Purvis opposite Johnny Depp played gangster John Dillinger. It was released in July 2009 and received critical acclaim and a commercially profitable theater run. Dan Zak of The Washington Post was dissatisfied with Bale and Depp's casting, believing their characters' rivalry was lacking electricity, while Christopher Orr of the New Republic found Bale's "characteristically closed off" appearance "nonetheless good." In David O. Russell's dramatic film The Fighter, the following year, Bale appeared in the role of Dicky Eklund, a career boxer whose work has come due to his heroin use. Micky Ward, a boxing trainee, played by Mark Wahlberg, chronicles Eklund and his brother's friendship. Bale employed humor in his portrayal of Eklund's illness. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote about the portrayal, which was "shrewdly observed, physically alert, and psychologically acute." Bale was honoured with the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his work. In 2011, he appeared in Zhang Yimou's historical drama film The Flowers of War, the year's highest-grossing Chinese film. Critics characterized it as "nationalistic," "anti-Japanese," and "too long, too melodramatic, too heavy."

In the sequel The Dark Knight Rises, released in July 2012, Bale played Batman again under Christopher Nolan's direction. Batman in the film was a remorseful recluse in poor mental and physical stability who has resigned after The Dark Knight's appearances. Following the shooting at a midnight showing of the film in Aurora, Colorado, Bale and his wife visited survivors, doctors, and first responders at The Medical Center of Aurora, as well as a a memorial to victims. The Dark Knight Rises was the 11th film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide, surpassing The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan's Batman film series, is one of the most successful film franchises. It is also one of the best comic book film franchises in the world. Bale's appearance in the three films earned worldwide recognition, with The Guardian, NME, and a survey conducted by the Radio Times naming it as the best representation of Batman on film. Bale expressed his dissatisfaction with his role in the trilogy, claiming he "didn't quite understand" his role and that he "didn't quite fit" what he had wished for as Batman.

Bale played a steel mill worker in Scott Cooper's thriller Out of the Furnace in 2013. Before the two actors met and decided not to proceed with the project without the actor's involvement, Cooper rewrote the film's script with Bale in mind. Critics lauded the film and said it was an excellent start to Bale's career after playing Batman, with Kristopher Tapley of Variety noting that his role in the film was his finest. He appeared in American Hustle, which reunites him with David O. Russell after his time on The Fighter. Bale investigated a video of interviews with real-life con artist Mel Weinberg, who was inspired by the character. He gained 43 pounds (20 kg), shaved a portion of his head, and adopted a slouched posture, reducing his height by 3 inches (7.6 cm) and causing him to have a herniated disc. Russell said that Robert De Niro, who appeared in an uncredited capacity, did not recognize Bale when they were first introduced. Joe Neumaier, a writer for the New York Daily News, found Bale's appearance to be "sad, funny, and riveting." For his services, he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

In Ridley Scott's epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings, Bale portrayed Moses. The film, which was released in December 2014, was accused of whitewashing for the casting of Caucasian actors in Middle Eastern roles. Scott defended his decisions by citing financing needs, but Bale said that Scott had been forthright in getting the film made. Bale's performance in the film was the most apathetic of his career, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Williams, who called his reaction to negative and mixed. Bale appeared in Terrence Malick's drama Knight of Cups, which The Atlantic critic David Sims described as a "noble failure." During the premiere of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2015, he said he did not have any dialogue and that Malick had only given him a character description. In Michael Burry's The Big Short, a biographical comedy-drama film about the financial crisis of 2007–08, he appeared as Michael Burry, an antisocial hedge fund manager. In the film, he used an ocular prosthesis. Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal found his portrayal "scarily funny," or in one-liners and quick takes, deftly edited. The actor was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In the 2016 historical drama The Promise, set during the Armenian Genocide, he played an American journalist who becomes embroiled in a love triangle with a woman played by Charlotte Le Bon and an Armenian medical student played by Oscar Isaac. Critics sluggish in the film, which earned them a $102 million loss. Jeannette Catsoulis, a film critic for The New York Times, wrote that Bale appeared "muffled and indistinct." Bale starred in Cooper's 2017 film Hostiles as a US Army officer escorting a gravely ill Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their Montana home. His role in the film is described as "a western with gritty, modern-day resonance" and "a bigoted, hate-filled man." When filming, Bale learned the Cheyenne words. Dan Jolin, an Empire scholar, called his performance "outstanding" and one of his career's finest performances. In the adventure film Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, Bale portrayed Bagheera in 2018. David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote that his voice and that of Andy Serkis, who produced the film, "bring the soul as well as sound and fury."

Bale, a writer and director of Adam McKay's book Vice, underwent a major body transformation once more as he gained over 40 pounds (18 kg) and shaved his head to portray US Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney, who is regarded as the most influential and loathed vice president in the United States, has been described as "quiet and obscure." Bale and Amy Adams were reunited in the film, with whom he had co-starred in The Fighter and American Hustle. Bale's "terrifically and in fact quite plausible" Cheney impersonation received praise, according to the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. Critics have lauded Bale's achievement for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, earning him an Academy Award nomination. Bale thanked Satan for promoting his Cheney role, eliciting a remark from Cheney's daughter and US Representative Liz Cheney, who said that Bale destroyed his chance to be "a true superhero." In the 2019 sports drama Ford vs. Ferrari, for which he lost 70 pounds (32 kg) after playing Cheney, Bale later portrayed sports car racing driver Ken Miles. The film, directed by James Mangold, follows Miles and automotive designer Carroll Shelby, played by Matt Damon, during the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bale's role earned him his fifth Golden Globe Award nomination. He said he would no longer be tempted by role changes while filming.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Thor: Love and Thunder, which was released in July 2022, Bale played Gorr the God Butcher, a villain. Gorr's characterisation was inspired by a character in the Aphex Twin song "Come to Daddy." Critics lauded Bale's portrayal, who called it "grounded and non-campy." He appeared in David O. Russell's time film Amsterdam and is scheduled to appear in Scott Cooper's thriller The Pale Blue Eye for the third time. In October 2022, Amsterdam was first introduced. Bale is expected to produce and play a preacher in the film The Church of Living Dangerously.

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