Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility, leading man status and physical transformations for his roles, Bale is a recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine included him on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011.
Born in Wales to English parents, Bale had his first starring role at age 13 in Steven Spielberg's 1987 war film Empire of the Sun. After more than a decade of performing in 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 titular role in the psychological thriller The Machinist (2004). Following the latter, Bale played superhero Batman in Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins and reprised the role in the sequels The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), garnering acclaim for his performance in the trilogy, which is one of the highest-grossing film franchises.
Bale continued in starring roles outside his work as Batman, including in Nolan's period drama The Prestige (2006), the science fiction film Terminator Salvation (2009), the crime drama Public Enemies (2009), the epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) and the historical drama The Promise (2016). For his role as boxer Dicky Eklund in David O. Russell's 2010 biographical film The Fighter, the actor won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In subsequent years, he continued to earn Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his work in Russell's black comedy American Hustle (2013) and Adam McKay's biographical dramedies The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). Bale's portrayal of politician Dick Cheney in Vice won him a second Golden Globe Award, and his portrayal of the race car driver Ken Miles in the 2019 sports drama Ford v Ferrari garnered him a fifth Golden Globe Award nomination.