Bale, Christian, 1974-

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English American 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 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 title role in the thriller The Machinist (2004). He played superhero Batman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012), one of the highest-grossing film franchises. Outside his work as Batman, Bale had starring roles in a range of films, including Nolan's period drama The Prestige (2006), the action film Terminator Salvation (2009), the crime drama Public Enemies (2009), and the epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014). For his portrayal of boxer Dicky Eklund in David O. Russell's biographical film The Fighter (2010), he won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Further Academy Award nominations came for his work in Russell's black comedy American Hustle (2013) and Adam McKay's biographical satires The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). His portrayal of politician Dick Cheney in Vice won him a second Golden Globe Award. Bale has since played Ken Miles in the sports drama Ford v Ferrari (2019) and Gorr the God Butcher in the superhero film Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).