All Top Hollywood Celebrities

Christian Bale Born on Jan. 30, 1974 in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, Bale grew up in Portugal and various towns around England before finally settling in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. He was introduced to life in entertainment almost from the start - one grandfather was a vaudeville-style stand-up comic; the other grandfather was a stand-in for John Wayne on several films. Bale's mother, Jane, was also in the business, working as a dancer and a circus performer. On the other hand, his father David was an entrepreneur, conservationist and animal rights activist who brought Young Bale to Save the Whale rallies. But it was Bale's older sister, Louise, who piqued his interest in acting - she started the craft when he was young; naturally, he followed her into it. Bale began his career a child actor, making his debut when he was nine years old in British television commercials, including one for Pac-Man cereal. After being tapped by Steven Spielberg to star in his epic period film, "Empire of the Sun" (1987), actor Christian Bale found himself thrust into the spotlight, causing enough apprehension about being a celebrity that he considered quitting his career before it really began. But Bale later overcame any initial misgivings to emerge as a gifted young talent worthy of serious consideration, thanks to career-making performances in "Little Women" (1994), "Metroland" (1997) and "Velvet Goldmine" (1998). But it was his leading turn as the serial killer Patrick Batman in "American Psycho" (2000) that turned more than a few heads and underscored his prodigious talents, though he followed up with more subdued performances in "Laurel Canyon" (2002) and "Reign of Fire" (2002). Bale took a page from Robert De Niro's playbook and dropped some 60-odd pounds to play an emaciated factory worker for an acclaimed performance in "The Machinist" (2004). After packing on the pounds and returning to even greater shape, Bale was near perfectly cast as Bruce Wayne in director Christopher Nolan's reboot "Batman Begins" (2005) and its much-hailed sequel, "The Dark Knight" (2008). Though his public persona took a hit when a recording of him berating the cinematographer on the set of "Terminator Salvation" (2009) leaked, Bale emerged the following year with an Oscar-winning supporting turn as a drug-addicted former professional boxer in "The Fighter" (2010), which helped the actor elevate his already exceptional career.