Christian Bale

Biography

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

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn

Self - Guest

Wogan

Self

Honest Trailers

Patrick Bateman (archive footage)

Honest Trailers

Bruce Wayne / Batman (archive footage)

Honest Trailers

Bruce Wayne (archive footage)

GMTV

Self

The Dark Knight

Bruce Wayne

MTV Movie & TV Awards

Self / Presenter

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role
2026	The Bride!	Frankenstein's Monster
2022	Thor: Love and Thunder	Gorr
2022	Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer	Self
2022	Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Thor: Love and Thunder	Self - Gorr
2022	Amsterdam	Burt Berendsen
2022	The Pale Blue Eye	Augustus Landor
2021	Catwoman: The Feline Femme Fatale	Self
2020	Ford v Ferrari: Bringing the Rivalry to Life	Self
2020	Joker: Put on a Happy Face	Self
2019	Ford v Ferrari	Ken Miles
2018	Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle	Bagheera (voice)
2018	Vice	Dick Cheney
2017	Spielberg	Self - Segment "Empire of the Sun"
2017	Hostiles	Captain Joseph J. Blocker
2016	The Promise	Chris Myers
2015	Knight of Cups	Rick
2015	The Big Short	Michael Burry
2015	Keepers of the Covenant: Making 'Exodus: Gods and Kings'	Self
2014	Exodus: Gods and Kings	Moses
2013	Out of the Furnace	Russell Baze
2013	American Hustle	Irving Rosenfeld
2013	The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy	Self (archive footage)
2012	The Dark Knight Rises	Bruce Wayne
2012	The Batmobile	Self
2012	Ending the Knight	Self
2011	The Flowers of War	John Miller
2010	The Fighter	Dicky Eklund
2009	Terminator Salvation	John Connor
2009	Public Enemies	Melvin Purvis
2009	Heath Ledger: A Tribute	Self
2009	Michael Mann: Making 'Public Enemies'	Self
2008	The Dark Knight	Bruce Wayne
2008	Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight	Self
2008	Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene	Self
2007	I'm Not There	Jack / Pastor John
2007	3:10 to Yuma	Dan Evans
2007	Rescue Dawn	Dieter Dengler
2007	Making of a True Story: Rescue Dawn	Self
2007	The Director's Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher Nolan	Self
2006	The Prestige	Alfred Borden
2005	Batman Begins	Bruce Wayne / Batman
2005	The New World	John Rolfe
2005	Harsh Times	Jim Luther Davis
2005	Tankman Begins	Batman (archive footage)
2004	The Machinist	Trevor Reznik
2003	Laurel Canyon	Sam
2002	Equilibrium	John Preston
2002	Reign of Fire	Quinn Abercromby
2001	Captain Corelli's Mandolin	Mandras
2000	Shaft	Walter Wade, Jr.
2000	American Psycho	Patrick Bateman
2000	Shaft: Still the Man	Self
1999	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Demetrius
1999	All the Little Animals	Bobby Platt
1999	Mary, Mother of Jesus	Jesus of Nazareth
1998	Velvet Goldmine	Arthur Stuart
1998	Dying to Tell the Story	Narrator / Dan Eldon (uncredited) (voice)
1997	Metroland	Chris
1996	The Portrait of a Lady	Edward Rosier
1996	The Secret Agent	Stevie
1995	Pocahontas	Thomas (voice)
1994	Little Women	Laurie
1994	Prince of Jutland	Amled
1993	Swing Kids	Thomas Berger
1992	Newsies	Jack 'Cowboy' Kelly
1991	A Murder of Quality	Tim Perkins
1991	Blood Drips Heavily on Newsie Square	Self
1990	Treasure Island	Jim Hawkins
1989	Henry V	Robin the Luggage-Boy
1987	Empire of the Sun	Jim
1987	Citizen Steve	Self - Actor
1987	Mio in the Land of Faraway	Jum-Jum / Benke
1987	The China Odyssey: Empire of the Sun	Self
	Best Of Enemies	Gennady Vasilenko
	Madden	Al Davis

Year	TV Show	Role
2012	Honest Trailers	Patrick Bateman (archive footage)
2012	Honest Trailers	Bruce Wayne / Batman (archive footage)
2012	Honest Trailers	Bruce Wayne (archive footage)
2011	Making of "The Flowers of War"
2008	Gotham Tonight	Bruce Wayne
1999	The Early Show	Self
1999	The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn	Self - Guest
1996	E! True Hollywood Story	Self (archive footage)
1993	GMTV	Self
1992	MTV Movie & TV Awards	Self / Presenter
1992	HBO First Look	Self
1987	Heart of the Country	Ben Harris
1986	Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna	Tsarevich Alexei
1982	Wogan	Self
1981	Entertainment Tonight	Self