Christian Bale

Christian Bale

Christian Charles Philip Bale was born 30 January 1974 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. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.

Christian Bale

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.

Christian Bale

From 2002 to 2003, Bale starred in three feature films. Laurel Canyon (2002) was generally well received by critics.  This film also marked the second time he worked with actress Kate Beckinsale, his costar in Prince of Jutland (1994). Critics generally focused on star Frances McDormand's performance over the rest of the cast.  Reign of Fire was Bale's first action vehicle and had, compared to all his previous work, an immense budget estimated at US$ 95,000,000. Bale entered into negotiations about starring in the film with reservations, but director Rob Bowman convinced him to take the lead role. Bale starred as Quinn Abercromby opposite Matthew McConaughey's Denton Van Zan. Bale and McConaughey trained for their respective roles by boxing and working out. It was reported that Bale had previously auditioned for the role of Robin in Batman Forever (1995) and later Batman and Robin (1997), but lost out to Chris O'Donnell. However, this rumor was later dispelled by Bale himself in a magazine interview in 2008.  In 2004, after completing filming for The Machinist, Bale won the coveted role of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, a reboot of the Batman film series. Bale beat out Jake Gyllenhaal, the closest competition for the role. Still fresh off The Machinist, it became necessary for Bale to bulk up to match Batman's muscular physique. He was given a deadline of six months to do this. Bale recalled it as far from a simple accomplishment: "...when it actually came to building muscle, I was useless. I couldn't do one push up the first day. All of the muscles were gone, so I had a real tough time rebuilding all of that."  With the help of a personal trainer, Bale succeeded in meeting the deadline, gaining a total of 100 lb (45 kg) in six months. He went from about 130 lbs to 230 lbs.  

Christian Bale

He then discovered that he had actually gained more weight than the director desired, and dropped his weight to 190 lbs by the time filming began. On 29 January 2000, Bale married Sandra "Sibi" Blažić (born 1970), a former model, make-up artist and personal assistant to Winona Ryder; the couples have a daughter, Emmeline, who was born on 27 March 2005 in Santa Monica, California.  Since 1992, Bale has resided in Los Angeles. Bale has three elder sisters – Erin Bale, a musician; Sharon Bale.

Christian Bale

During an interview promoting his 2009 film Public Enemies Bale said he is a video game fan, specifically of the Metal Gear Solid series. When questioned if he was in the running to play Solid Snake, Bale stated that he prefers to devote his spare time to constructive things and dislikes discussing his personal life .Bale has stated that he is a big fan of late comedian Chris Farley and of Farley's film Beverly Hills Ninja.