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Trivia
Birth name: Christian Charles
Philip Bale
Date of birth: 30 January 1974
Place of birth: Haverfordwest,
Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Nickname: Chris
Height: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Spouse: Sibi Blazic (29
January 2000 - present) 1 child
Hand-picked by director/writer Mary Harron
and author Bret Easton Ellis to star in American Psycho (2000).
Consequently, was noted by the media as the first star of American
Psycho (2000), only to lose the part 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 (1992) and Swing Kids
(1993).
He has an uncanny ear for accents - he has
used a different accent for each of his films to date.
Bale was handpicked by Winona
Ryder for the coveted role of Laurie (Theodore Laurence) in Little
Women (1994).
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 streetkids 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.
Born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.
He replaced Leonardo DiCaprio for the film
American Psycho (2000).
Stepson of feminist author Gloria Steinem
His father, David Bale, died on 30 December
2003, from brain lymphoma at the age of 62.
He was raised in England, Portugal and
California.
His great-uncle, Rex Bale, was an actor.
His father was a former commercial pilot.
Mother was a former circus dancer.
He has three sisters: Erin Bale, a musician;
Sharon Bale, a computer professional; and Louise Bale, a
director/actress - she appeared in Newsies (1992).
His grandfather was a stand-up comic and
children's entertainer.
Met his wife through Winona
Ryder; she was Ryder's personal assistant.
With Batman Begins (2005), he will become
the seventh actor to play Batman and the only one since Adam West to
stand the same height as Batman, who is 6-feet-2-inches tall according
to the comic books.
Dropped an amazing 63 pounds for his role as
the emaciated insomniac Trevor Reznik in the film Maquinista, El (2004)
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 2 versions of the John
Smith/Pocahontas story. He provides the voice of Thomas in Pocahontas
(1995) and plays John Rolfe in The New World (2005).
Turned down the opportunity to reprise the
role of Patrick Bateman in the Roger Avary-directed The Rules of
Attraction (2002)
His wife gave birth to the couple's first
child, a girl. The baby was born 27 March, 2005 in Santa Monica,
California.
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 (2005) in his natural mixed Welsh/British accent. He instead
spoke to Gross in an almost-inflectionless mid-American accent, only
revealing his dialectic roots with a few words.
Has 3 older sisters: Erin, Sharon &
Louise Bale'
Two of his most famous character's 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 the age of twenty. 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.
Auditioned for the role of Robin/Dick
Grayson in Batman Forever (1995). About ten years later, he was cast as
Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins (2005).
The nameplate on his trailer for Batman
Begins (2005) read "Bruce Wayne" as opposed to Bale's name.
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.
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