Christian Bale

Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian Morgan Bale; born 30 January 1974) is an English ^[2] actor who is known for his roles in the films Newsies, Empire of the Sun, American Psycho, The Prestige and Batman Begins. Bale is also known for his versatility as an actor, including mimicking nearly any English-based 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 films.

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.^[3] Entertainment Weekly also called Bale one of the "Most Creative People in Entertainment," after his performance in American Psycho.

Christian Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales. He is the youngest of four children. His parents are businessman David Bale and circus performer Jenny James, both English. Bale spent his childhood in several countries including the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the United States.^[4]

On January 29, 2000, Bale married Sibi Blazic, who had formerly been a model, a make-up artist, and a 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. ^[27] Bale, notoriously private, has not publicly divulged her name.

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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[28] Ironically, Steinem was one of the most vocal opponents of Bret Easton Ellis's novel American Psycho.

-- wikipedia.org

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