Cinema Experts

"An actor should never be larger than the film he's in."
Christian Charles Philip Bale is a Welsh-born English method actor who is known for his roles in the films American Psycho, Shaft, Equilibrium, The Machinist, Batman Begins and The Prestige, among others. Bale is also known for his versatility as an actor, including mimicking nearly any English-language-based accent, harsh regimens of shedding and gaining weight and generally inhabiting the characters he plays. Before he found success in playing Batman, he was heavily involved in independent films.
He made his film debut as Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia in the made-for-television film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna in 1986, which was followed by leading roles in the miniseries Heart of the Country and the fantasy adventure Mio in the Land of Faraway, in which he appeared for the first time with Christopher Lee. In 1987, Amy Irving, his co-star in Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, recommended Bale to her then-husband, Steven Spielberg, for a role in Empire of the Sun. Bale's performance as Jim Graham earned him widespread critical praise and the first ever "Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor" award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures; the Board created the award especially for him.
In 1994 Bale was handpicked by Winona Ryder to star in Gillian Armstrong's version of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. In 1995. Bale provided the voice for Thomas, a young compatriot of Captain John Smith, in Disney's Pocahontas. In 1997, Bale played the lead in Todd Haynes' tribute to glam rock, Velvet Goldmine. In 1999, Bale contributed to an all-star cast, including Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, and Rupert Everett in an updated version of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In 1999, Bale prepared to undertake what would arguably be his most acclaimed role, as serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. The film diverged from the novel in some instances, but was generally faithful. Bateman was, on the outward, a stereotypical yuppie, but underneath the public image he had created for himself he was actually a murderous psychopath. Bale researched Bateman by studying the novel. He prepared himself physically for the role by spending months tanning and exercising rigorously in order to achieve Bateman’s Olympian physique, even going so far as to distance himself from the cast and crew in order to preserve the darker side of Bateman’s character.
In 2004 Bale played Batman and was set to star with the predominantly British and Irish cast of Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Cillian Murphy in the Christopher Nolan-helmed Batman Begins, a complete restart of the Batman mythos without any ties to the Burton or Schumacher visions.