Christian Bale's Career in Photos
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Few actors are as dedicated to their craft as Christian Bale has proven himself to be. Throughout his career, Bale has gone through more than a few drastic physical transformations to fully immerse himself in a role. He can disappear into his characters, leaving you shocked that he has played so many different types of people through a long career starting at the age of 13. Whether he's a caped superhero or a ruthless vice president, Bale's intense approach has yielded great results.
If you just know Bale from some of his most classic characters like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho or Batman in the Nolan Batman trilogy, here are some deep cuts and other acclaimed roles from the British actor's incredible career.
1987 - Empire of the Sun
At the age of 13-years-old, Bale landed his breakthrough role as Jamie in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. He played a British boy in a World War II Japanese internment camp. This first big role had already landed him critical acclaim and a ton of star power.
1989 - Henry V
Two years after filming Empire of the Sun, Bale took a role in the movie adaptation of Henry V. His role as the page boy Robin is small, but it was notable for how well he did.
1990 - Treasure Island
In 1990, Bale got a role as Jim Hawkins in the made-for-television film adaption of the classic swashbuckling adventure novel, Treasure Island. He starred alongside other notable actors like Oliver Reed, Charlton Heston, and Christopher Lee.
1994 - Little Women
A memorable character Bale portrayed in his early career was Theodore "Laurie" Laurence in Little Women, which was directed by Gillian Armstrong. Although Bale had a relatively small part compared to the main stars like Winona Ryder, Gabriel Byrne, and Kirsten Dunst, the film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's coming-of-age novel did quite well and is still a beloved classic.
1995 - Pocahontas
In Disney's Pocahontas, Bale showed that he was just as good at voice acting as he was at anything else. He voiced Thomas, a British explorer, alongside other actors like Irene Bedard and Mel Gibson.
1999 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
In 1999, Bale took a role in another well-liked Shakespeare adaptation. He played Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream alongside Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci, and Calista Flockhart. The romantic comedy did pretty well at the box office.
2000 - American Psycho
Bale's role as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho was a turning point in his career, making him even more famous with this enduringly-recognized psycho character. It was also one of the first times Bale had taken on an intense diet and exercise routine to transform for the role. To play Bateman, Bale did what he described as one of the most restrictive diets of his career. "There were no cheat meals," he told Train Mag. "It was all lean protein. No sugars, good fats, and low carbs."
2004 - The Machinist
Bale took on another notable role in the psychological thriller The Machinist as Trevor Reznik, a machinist struggling with paranoia and delusion as the result of not sleeping for a year. The role had him take on one of the most dramatic transformations of his career, strenuously dieting and socially isolating himself to meet the needs of the production and get in the mindset of the characters.
2005 - Batman Begins
It was Bale's role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins that launched him into more commercial success. He starred in the film alongside celebrities like Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, and Morgan Freeman. The film follows a young Bruce Wayne as he trains in combat to eventually take the moniker of Batman, and faces foes like the Scarecrow and Ra's al Ghul.
2006 - The Prestige
Right after Batman Begins, Bale worked with Nolan again in the psychological thriller film The Prestige. He starred as Robert Borden, a stage musician in Victorian London feuding with Hugh Jackman's character Robert Angler. The movie was a success with plenty of positive reviews, citing the film's twisting plot and visual flair as some of its strongest elements.
2008 - The Dark Knight
Bale returned to his role as Batman in The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, also directed by Nolan. Of course, Heath Ledger's portayal of the Joker is legendary from this film, but Bale grew with his character as well and did a great job as a more mature and confident Bruce Wayne, and an even stronger Batman. His performance earned him a few award nominations, like Best Male Performance at the MTV Movie Awards and Favorite Superhero (which he won) at the People's Choice Awards.
2009 - Terminator Salvation
In 2009, Bale took a role in the fourth installment of The Terminator franchise, Terminator Salvation. It was the first Terminator movie that didn't star Arnold Schwarzenegger and instead starred Bale and Sam Worthington. During filming, Bale was recorded going on a rant at the movie's cinematographer and had to publicly apologize for his actions. He later stated he would never work with the director, McG, again.
2009 - Public Enemies
2009 also saw Bale star in biographical crime drama Public Enemies alongside Johnny Depp, who played John Dillinger. Bale played FBI agent Melvin Purvis. The film, which was helmed by the excellent director of Heat, Michael Mann, performed well in theaters and with critics.
2010
Bale's role in 2010's The Fighter was the first to get him prestigious award nominations. Alongside star Mark Wahlberg, he played Dicky Eklund, a professional boxer whose career had ended because of drug addiction. Bale won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture for his performance. It was also another physical transformation for the star: he lost 30 pounds by "running like crazy," he told The Huffington Post.
2012 - The Dark Knight Rises
Two years after his award-winning performance in The Fighter, Bale took on his role as Batman for the third time. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bale returned as an older Bruce Wayne facing a huge new threat in Tom Hardy's Bane. Even though the actor received generally high praise for his performance as the caped crusader in all three films, Bale later said he felt critical about the job he did, saying, "I didn't quite nail it."
2013 - American Hustle
Bale had a very memorable look for his next role—he played Irving Rosenfeld, a con artist forced to set up a sting operation on corrupt politicians, in American Hustle. He was part of a star-studded ensemble, including Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jeremy Renner. The movie got Bale a slew of award nominations, including an Academy Award and Golden Globe nom for Best Actor. He gained over 40 pounds for the role and told People that to do so, he "ate lots of doughnuts, a whole lot of cheeseburgers" and "literally anything that came my way."
2014 - Exodus: Gods and Kings
The actor's next role was playing Moses in the biblical epic film Exodus Gods and Kings, directed by Ridley Scott. The film had mixed reviews and didn't perform as well as Bale's many other big hits in the years surrounding it. While discussing making a biblical film and what he researched before playing the role, Bale gave a surprising answer for his first pick, saying "I went and rented [Monty Python's] The Life of Brian, which is a favorite film of mine, a beautifully made film."
2015 - The Big Short
Bale was a key part of the ensemble cast of The Big Short, a biographical crime comedy-drama film following several real figures surrounding the financial crisis of 2007-08. He played Michael Burry, a hedge fund manager who decides to bet against (or Short) the U.S. housing market in 2005 after noticing its instability—and was critically recognized for his work. He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance.
2018 - Vice
Bale committed 100% to his part in the 2018 film Vice, where he starred as former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in his second collaboration with The Big Short writer/director Adam McKay. For the role, the actor had to yet again gain weight, and he put on 40 pounds by eating "a lot of pies." He also had to shave his head, bleach his eyebrows, and even do exercises to thicken his neck. His dedication paid off, as he received a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars and won Best Actor at the Golden Globes.
2019 - Ford v Ferrari
2019's Ford v Ferrari was yet another chance for Bale to expand his acclaimed filmography. He starred as race car driver Ken Miles in the sports drama, alongside Matt Damon who played the retired racer and automotive designer Carroll Shelby. Bale completely transformed himself after playing Cheney by losing 70 pounds. He told Variety that he lost more weight than he thought he would just to fit in the tiny race cars. He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for his performance.
2022 - Thor: Love and Thunder
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Bale was completely unrecognizable yet again, but this time, the makeup was more the culprit. Bale entered the Thor series as the villain Gorr the God Butcher. His portrayal didn't earn as much praise as usual and he later said that working in front of the Marvel green screen was "monotony."
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