Christian Bale

Hand-picked by director/writer Mary Harron and author Bret Easton Ellis to star in American Psycho . Consequently, was noted by the media as the first star of American Psycho , only to lose the role to Leonardo DiCaprio and then win it back again.

Is an excellent horseman and an avid reader.

He trained for 10 weeks in dancing and martial arts for the dance sequences in Newsies and Swing Kids .

He has an uncanny ear for accents.

Bale was handpicked by Winona Ryder for the coveted role of Laurie (Theodore Laurence) in Little Women .

His father, David Bale , married feminist icon Gloria Steinem on September 3, 2000.

A devoted animal lover, Christian has two dogs [Mojo and Ramone] and three cats [Miriam, Molly and Lilly], which are all strays that he found.

Christian is active in many organizations, including Ark Trust, Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Foundation, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the Redwings Sanctuary, and the Happy Child Mission, and a school for street kids in Rio De Janeiro.

His grandfather doubled for John Wayne in two movies, in Africa.

His first on-screen role was in 1983 at age 9 in a British commercial for Pac-Man cereal.

He replaced Leonardo DiCaprio for the film American Psycho .

His father, David Bale , died on December 30, 2003, from brain lymphoma at age 62.

He was raised in England, Portugal and California.

His great-uncle, Rex Bale, was an actor.

His father was a former commercial pilot and his mother was a former circus dancer.

Has three sisters: musician Erin Bale; computer professional Sharon Bale; and director/actress Louise Bale , who appeared in Newsies .

His grandfather was a stand-up comic and childrens entertainer.

Met his wife through Winona Ryder ; she was Ryders personal assistant.

With Batman Begins , he has become the seventh actor to play Batman/Bruce Wayne in a live-action film. The others were: Lewis Wilson in 1943, Robert Lowery in 1949, Adam West in 1966, Michael Keaton for the first two installments of the Batman film series, to be replaced by Val Kilmer and George Clooney.

Dropped an amazing 63 pounds for his role as the emaciated insomniac Trevor Reznik in the film The Machinist with only a single vitamin consultation with a nutritionist to guide him. For the most part, he only ate salads and apples, chewed gum, smoked cigarettes, and drank nonfat lattes.

Considered getting formal acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) when he was twenty, but decided to focus on working instead.

Has been in two versions of the John Smith/Pocahontas story. He provides the voice of Thomas in Pocahontas and plays John Rolfe in The New World .

Turned down the opportunity to reprise the role of Patrick Bateman in the Roger Avary -directed The Rules of Attraction .

In the "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" radio interview first aired June 13, 2005, he admitted to Gross that because Batman is "such an American icon", he had decided not to perform his promotional interviews for the movie Batman Begins in his natural English accent. Instead he spoke to Gross in an almost inflection-less mid-American accent, only revealing his dialectic roots with a few words.

Two of his most famous characters names have a difference of only one letter: Bateman and Batman.

Since a young age, he was very ambitious about attending Drama School, and auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and the Central School of Speech and Drama at age 20. He was accepted to all, but was convinced by his parents to continue working instead. To this day, he regrets not attending drama school for his personal passion of learning his craft.

The nameplate on his trailer for Batman Begins read "Bruce Wayne" as opposed to Bales name.

Is the first non-American actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne.

Is the youngest actor to portray Batman.

Owned a home he shared with his sister, Louise Bale , in Manhattan Beach.

Before he played Batman in Batman Begins , his sister Louise Bale played Batmans mother in The Death of Batman .

Auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic and almost got the role but people felt that it wouldnt be "fair" having two Brits playing two Americans (Rose was American as well, she says in the movie that the Titanic was a slave ship bring her back to America).

Was considered for the role of Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl , which went to Orlando Bloom.

Is a distant relative of 19th-century thespian Lily Langtry.

If he plays an American character, he will use an American accent in all the interviews related to the film. He says he does this so the audience is not confused.

Became a father for the 1st time at age 31 when his wife Sibi Blazic gave birth to their daughter Emmaline Bale on March 27, 2005.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#13).

Although born in Wales, his family is actually English. In 1976, when Bale was two years old, his family left Wales and returned to England.

Was good friends with the late actor Heath Ledger.

His fans refer to themselves as "Baleheads".

His father was an activist and adventurer and his mother a circus dancer so he never lived in one place for very long while growing up.

A very private individual, he has never publicly confirmed the name of his daughter.

Beat out nearly 4,000 other auditions for the role of Jim Graham in Steven Spielberg s Empire of the Sun .

Was introduced to acting by his sister, Louise Bale.

Alongside Michael Keaton , he is the only other actor to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman in more than one live action film.

Took up vegetarianism at the age of six but has since returned to eating meat.

Was arrested over verbal assault allegations made by his mother and his sister just hours after he attended the European premiere of his movie The Dark Knight in London. Upon reviewing the case, the London police decided not to charge him with anything.

While working on Schindlers List , Steven Spielberg paid a visit to Bale on the set of Swing Kids , as both movies were partially filmed in Prague.

Was considered for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale , which went to Daniel Craig.

Has said that he considers it an honor to have been called a "mofo" by Samuel L. Jackson in a movie.

He and his wife belong to the Board of Trustees in the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

Dislikes doing interviews.

Met Drew Barrymore on the set of Empire of the Sun , who was visiting her godfather, Steven Spielberg. He was thirteen and she was twelve. They would both admit later to having a crush on each other at the time.

He was involved in an infamous incident where he was recorded verbally assaulting cinematographer Shane Hurlbut on the set of Terminator Salvation for interrupting him during an intense scene. Bale has since apologized, but the incident was widely heard across the Internet.

Is an avid fan of video games and cites Super Mario as one of his all-time favorites growing up.

Has appeared in Batman Begins and Terminator Salvation . Both were follow-ups to earlier films ( Batman & Robin and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ) that had starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Has appeared in The Dark Knight Rises opposite Gary Oldman and Anne Hathaway , as Commissioner Gordon and Selina Kyle, respectively. He has also worked with both of their predecessors: Pat Hingle in Shaft and Michelle Pfeiffer in A Midsummer Nights Dream . Hingle and Pfeiffer, for their parts, have worked with all three previous Batmans. Pfeiffer worked with Michael Keaton in Batman Returns , Val Kilmer in The Prince of Egypt , and George Clooney in One Fine Day . Hingle, of course, appeared in all the previous Batman films.

In 1984, he made his stage debut in the West End play "The Nerd", opposite Rowan Atkinson.

Is the third Batman to win an Oscar. Ben Affleck won Best Original Screeplay for Good Will Hunting and George Clooney won Best Supporting Actor for Syriana . Bale also won Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter .

Has appeared twice on the cover of GQ magazine: March 2007 and June 2009.

Was compared to a young Steve McQueen by Steven Spielberg , while filming Empire of the Sun .

Holds the records for the most weight lost (63 pounds for The Machinist ) and gained (80 pounds for Batman Begins ) for film roles.

Was a huge fan of the Terminator films long before being cast as John Connor.

Is the fourth and oldest actor to play the role of John Connor in the Terminator series. He is also the first non-American.

Has spoken frequently of his dislike for the Disney film Newsies .

Has played the character of Bruce Wayne/Batman in more live-action films than any other actor.

Is one of four consecutive Oscar winners in the Best Supporting Actor category whose name begins with Chris, the other actors being Christoph Waltz (who won twice) and Christopher Plummer.

He and Jeremy Sisto have played the roles of both Batman and Jesus Christ in films. Bale is the only one to have played both in live-action productions.

Has starred in two films about Native Americans and the founding of America: Pocahontas and The New World .

Has lived in Los Angeles, California since 1992.

Visited victims of the 2012 Aurora shooting spree.

Has a mole on his nose right before his right eye.

Left school at the age of 16.

He has two roles in common with Val Kilmer : (1) Kilmer played Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever while Bale played Batman Begins , The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises and Kilmer played Moses in The Prince of Egypt while Bale played him in Exodus: Gods and Kings .

(March 8, 2014) He and his wife Sibi Blazic are expecting their 2nd child together.

Has played both Moses and Jesus, two of the most important figures in the Bible and Christianity in general.

He and his wife Sibi Blazic welcomed their second child, a son, in August 2014.

He is still an avid motorcyclist he but gave up track racing after getting into multiple accidents and receiving a steel plate for his broken wrist, a titanium clavicle and 25 screws for his hand. At one point he also lost the top of his finger but it was later reattached.

He has two roles in common with Jeremy Sisto : (1) Bale played Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins , The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises while Sisto played him in Justice League: The New Frontier and Sisto played Jesus Christ in Jesus while Bale played him in Mary, Mother of Jesus .

Has a habit of starring with a host of Australias biggest actors including Hugh Jackman ( The Prestige ), Cate Blanchett ( Im Not There. ), Heath Ledger ( The Dark Knight ), Nicole Kidman ( The Portrait of a Lady ), Toni Collette ( Shaft ), Joel Edgerton ( Exodus: Gods and Kings ), Sam Worthington ( Terminator Salvation ), David Wenham ( Public Enemies ), and Jason Clarke ( Knight of Cups) to name only some.

He won an Oscar for playing Dickie Eklund in The Fighter , making him one of 17 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2015). The other sixteen actors and their respective performances are: Spencer Tracy for playing Father Edward Flanagan in Boys Town , Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergeant York , Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker , Jason Robards for playing Ben Bradlee in All the Presidents Men , Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Raging Bull , Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miners Daughter , Jeremy Irons for playing Claus Von Bullow in Reversal of Fortune , Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking , Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Shine , Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich , Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001/I) , Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen , Sandra Bullock for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side , Melissa Leo for playing Alice Eklund-Ward in The Fighter , Meryl Streep for playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady and Eddie Redmayne for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything .

One of his favorite movies of all time is Beverly Hills Ninja .

He gained 43 pounds for his role as Irving Rosenfeld in American Hustle .

As of 2016, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Fighter , American Hustle and The Big Short . These films also earned him Academy Award nominations, winning for The Fighter.

He was considered for the role of Will Atenton / Peter Ward in Dream House that went to Daniel Craig.

He was considered for the role of Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. that went to Henry Cavill.

He auditioned for the role of Mercutio in Romeo + Juliet that went to Harold Perrineau.

He was considered for the role of Brian OConnor in The Fast and the Furious that went to Paul Walker.

He auditioned for the role of Detective Jake Hoyt in Training Day that went to Ethan Hawke.

He turned down the lead role in Noah in favour of Exodus: Gods and Kings .

He turned down the role of Leo Demidov in Child 44 that went to Tom Hardy.

Contrary to popular belief, he didnt audition for the role of Robin/Dick Grayson in Batman Forever . He said, "Id never have auditioned to be bloody Robin".

He was considered for the lead role in Robin Hood that went to Russell Crowe.

He was going to star in Steve Jobs with David Fincher directing.

He was considered to play Norman Bates in Psycho that went to Vince Vaughn.

He was originally cast as Neil in To the Wonder , but dropped out. Ben Affleck replaced him.

He was considered for the role of Adrian Doyle Pryce/The Stranger in Old Boy that went to Sharlto Copley.

He was considered for the role of Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley that went to Matt Damon.

He was originally cast as Rob Hall in Everest , but dropped out in favour of Exodus: Gods and Kings .

He was considered for the role of Pvt/LCpl Anthony Swofford in Jarhead that went to Jake Gyllenhaal.

He was originally cast as George W. Bush in W. . He spent months researching for the role, but dropped out after he was not satisfied with the prosthetic makeup tests. Josh Brolin replaced him.

He turned down the role of Bryan Woodman in Syriana , as he was busy filming The New World .

Friends with Dark Knight Trilogy cast: Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cottilard and Aaron Eckhart.

He was considered for the role of Norman Bates in Psycho before Vince Vaughn was cast.

[on dealing with the resulting media attention of,Empire of the Sun (1987) at age 13] It was horrific. I was,almost crying in interviews and running away during press conferences,pretending I was going to the bathroom and just disappearing.

I started my career without fans.

[on his 63-pound weight loss for The Machinist (2004) ] I had a,stupid kind of feeling of invincibility, like, "I can do it, I can,manage it. " I really did feel like I hit this point of enlightenment.

Our Batman [Batman Begins (2005) ] is centered on the early days.

The villains were always the most interesting characters, too. Batman,has always been this very bizarre, almost blind character running,through the middle of the story. Our film is different.

At first, I was somewhat hesitant to do the role,[Batman Begins (2005) ]. I mean, after all, Batman is an icon.

[on being asked if he knew how big a flop Newsies (1992) was] You,say something bad about Newsies and you have an awful lot of people to,answer to.

Life is not stable. There is a great strength that comes from not being,shocked or scared by upheavals.

If it happened at all, it was imagined characters that I had invented.

My dad was a role model for me. He was a fascinating man. There was,intrigue and entertainment growing up with him. He gave me an edict,that I still pursue: "Life should never be boring".

You look back at the history of the Oscars - some of the best movies,never got sht.

[on starting a new trilogy with Terminator Salvation (2009) ] I,hope that it will be a really fun, great movie trilogy if this one,takes off and that we get to do a second or third, with me or not,whatever the scenario is. I think there is actually - in the hands of,the right people - a real revival for this and an extension to an,already good mythology.

I was up in Toronto and went to see that movie,La vita bella (1997) . By myself. And when I came out, I had a,craving for blood unlike anything I had ever experienced since I,decided to go vegetarian at the age of 7. It was a compulsion. It was,undeniable. I went to several restaurants, one right after the other,and got the biggest, bloodiest steaks I could get my hands on. It was,the first time I had tasted flesh in almost twenty years.

I walk under ladders, I do all that stuff. I do it on purpose. I like,provoking superstitions.

I met my grandfather just before he died, and it was the first time that I had seen Dad with a relative of his. It was interesting to see my own father as a son and the body language and alteration in attitude that comes with that, and it sort of changed our relationship for the better.

I have a fear of being boring.

One of the places where we lived when I was growing up had this big wood out the back. And starting when I was about 8, I used to enjoy just walking alone through the wood late. Eleven p. m. Midnight. Later. .