Christian Bale (full name Christian Charles Philip Bale), a Hollywood superstar, was born on January 30, 1974 in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The boy's father, David Bale, a civil aviation pilot, was rarely at home, and his mother, nee Jenny James, a circus artist, disappeared at rehearsals. Christian had three older sisters, who, like him, had been attracted to creativity since childhood. One of the sisters, Louise Bale, became an actress, the second, Erin, took up music, and the third sister, Sharon, was educated at the Department of Computer Science and became a computer technology specialist.
First roles
Bale Christian, whose filmography currently contains more than 50 paintings, early began his creative life, at the age of nine he made his debut on British television. In 1983, the boy starred in a commercial, and a year later took part in the theatrical performance "The Nerd", in which the popular comedian Atkinson played. In 1987, a thirteen-year-old teenager, Christian Bale, was invited to the role of Hume-Hume, a friend of the protagonist in the film "My, My Mio," directed by Vladimir Grammatikov based on the tales of the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. The director was chosen by Lindgren herself, after he told her in a private conversation about the early period of his childhood. Astrid believed that the attitude of the Soviet director is the best match the psychology of movie heroes of the future picture. The legend of the literary world of Sweden was worried about the fate of her works, which were destined to undergo a film adaptation. Lindgren personally watched the screenplays and discussed each episode with the director.
Christian and Astrid Lindgren
Bale Christian, whose filmography began with the film “Myo, My Myo,” forgot that he was only thirteen years old and tried to play “in an adult way”. The film was a joint project of Soviet and Scandinavian filmmakers, some of the episodes were filmed in Scotland, some in Sweden. In the center of the plot, two boys, Myo (Nick Packard) and Yum-Yum (Christian Bale), fell into a magical land, where they began to fight with the evil knight Kato. The music for the fantasy film "Myo, My Myo" was written by the musicians of the Swedish group ABBA. The picture became the most expensive adaptation of the fairy tale Astrid Lindgren. However, the criticism of the film, which appeared on the screen in 1987, was very cool: according to Swedish art historians, the work of Astrid Lindgren deserved a deeper interpretation. Nevertheless, the play of the young actor Christian Bale received good reviews.
First Award
The next film with Christian Bale was the adaptation of James Ballard ’s novel “Empire of the Sun” with a dramatic plot on the theme of World War II. The director of the picture, Steven Spielberg, tried to preserve the severity of the tragedy that befell the young Jim Graham, who ended up in a Japanese concentration camp. The film won many prizes and nominations, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Christian Bale received the US National Critics Guild Award for Best Young Artist. After The Empire of the Sun, all films with Christian Bale began to gain popularity.
First adult roles
Another movie with Christian Bale was "Henry V", shot by Kenneth Branagh in 1989. A year later, the young actor took part in the film "Treasure Island" based on Stevenson’s novel, playing Jim Hawkins. And in 1991, Bale Christian (the filmography of the actor at the same time replenished with the first film in the genre of the detective) played the role of Tim Perkins in the film "Murder in a Gentleman's Style". This ended Bale’s childhood roles, and at the age of eighteen he began to work on participating in the filming of the 1992 musical “News Sellers,” directed by Kenny Ortega. Bale Christian, whose filmography was replenished with the first serious work, learned to dance, preparing for the role of the newspaper peddler Jack Kelly, nicknamed Cowboy.
Swingers
Christian Bale's unexpectedly discovered dancing talent came in handy in his next film, a musical drama called Swingers. The film is literally riddled with many choreographic scenes, and Bale participated in them along with professional dancers. Playing Thomas Berger, a passionate admirer of swing music, Christian diligently created the image of a young antagonist who did not share Hitler’s dubious ideology, who banned American music in 1939 throughout Germany, which, he believed, could have a fatal effect on the moral character of German youth .
"Driver"
In 2004, at the film studio Filmax Group, the deeply psychological thriller "The Machinist" was shot. Christian Bale starred as Trevor Reznik, a metalworker at a metalworking plant. This character was shown by director Brad Anderson with frightening realism. A middle-aged man suffering from anorexia and chronic insomnia, is captivated by illusions and nightmares. He hardly moves, there are almost no forces left in the exhausted body. However, Trevor Reznik copes with his work as a machinist, and this gives him the opportunity to live and somehow make ends meet. He sometimes even makes love to Stevie, his girlfriend, who out of kindness in every way supports her unfortunate friend. The role of Trevor became a real test for Christian Bale. In preparation for the shoot, he decided to achieve a state of genuine anorexia with pathological weight loss. Relatives in every possible way dissuaded the actor, but nevertheless he lost 29 kilograms in one month. And only when his emaciated body began to blacken, and his ribs acquired a skeletal shape, the actor stopped the hunger strike.
Batman
The following year, 2005, the Batman film project was launched at the Warner Brothers film studio. Christian Bale was invited to the lead role. The production of the super film was taken over by Christopher Nolan, who is considered one of the most talented and promising directors in Hollywood. He managed to overcome the multi-layered legacy from several previous Batmen, shot in different years, and create an updated character participating in three independent films: Batman: The Beginning, in which superman Bruce Wayne was played by Christian Bale, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Knight: Revival of the Legend. " The new “Batman” was a resounding success, received many awards and nominations. It is considered an unsurpassed super-action movie and serves as a good example of an adventure film.
American Scam
Recent films include the American Scam directed by David Owen Russell, starring Christian Bale. "American Scam" was released in December 2013, and the film was immediately designated as a candidate for the Oscar-2014. In fact, the picture received prizes for the best costumes and the best scenery of the year, seven nominations for the Golden Globe Award and ten nominations for the Oscar, including in the category "Best Film of the Year". The script for the picture was created on the basis of real events, following the recent FBI experiment under the operational name Abskam. The essence of the investigation was to identify violations of the law by senior US officials and politicians.