Christian Bale: His Top 10 Roles!

A lot of press has focused on Christian Bale of late but little of it has been about his professional abilities or his films. Often hailed as one of the best actors of his generation, his diverse roles have run the gamut from superhero to psycho, from singing newsie to disturbed insomniac, and from cowboy to cop. He’s performed on stage in London’s famed West End and lived in the jungle eating worms for a Werner Herzog POW film. And yes, apparently he’s a little intense. But with a range and commitment to his craft that most others in the industry can only dream about, his work speaks for itself. Here’s our look back at 10 of his greatest movie roles.

Empire of the Sun (1987):

Bale had his big break when Steven Spielberg cast him as Jim Graham, the lead in this epic WWII drama about a boy separated from his family during the invasion of Shanghai, who is then captured by the Japanese and placed in a POW camp. Even from the first scene of his very first film role, Bale managed to convey a depth of emotion that was carried through the entire movie, which is all the more impressive when you consider he was just 13 years old at the time.

Swing Kids (1995):

Bale takes on a supporting role in this film documenting a small group of teenagers in 1930’s Germany who danced to swing music by banned American musicians. While a young Robert Sean Leonard takes the bulk of the film on his shoulders, watching Bale as Thomas, a young music fanatic forced to join the Hitler Youth, make the transition from carefree rebel to full-on conformist is amazing and offered a brief glimpse of the passion and intensity he’d bring to more adult roles down the line.

Velvet Goldmine (1998):

In a film known more for the flamboyant performance of the David Bowie-type glam rocker played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, it’s Bale’s performance as disillusioned Arthur Stuart, a reporter assigned to dig into the rise and fall of the rock star he once worshipped, that anchors the film. In a movie filled with excess and over-the-top set pieces from the 70’s, Stuart’s disappointment at the reality behind the pop façade is engrossing to watch.

American Psycho (2000):

As the animalistic and eerily methodical killer Patrick Bateman, Christian Bale effectively marked his place on Hollywood’s A-list thanks to a naked chainsaw chase and an unbelievably committed performance in American Psycho. The Welsh thesp showed that he could carry a film and captivate audiences even while portraying a character whose grasp on reality, and any connection to humanity, is tenuous at best. Not only did the film introduce what would soon become Bale trademarks (commitment to a part and intensity being among them) it also made those unfamiliar with Bret Easton Ellis’ novel reconsider the artistic merits of Huey Lewis and Genesis – and that says a whole lot.

Laurel Canyon (2002):

As one-half of an uptight, yuppie, highly educated couple, Christian Bale is all wound up with no way to unleash his dreams, frustrations and lust. The lovely Kate Beckinsale plays his timid wife Alex, the shy fruit fly researcher, and together they play repressed Americans with ease and believability. Retreating to his free-spirited mother’s Laurel Canyon home, Sam (Bale) and Alex are supposed to have the house to themselves to continue their studies in peace – he’s at Harvard Medical School, natch – but his mom Jane (a luminous Frances McDormand) is there along with her much-younger lover and a motley crew of musicians. This little-seen film is a gem and shows Bale in a different, more subtle, light, thought it’s unmistakably a strong one.

The Machinist (2004):

Talk about a transformation. Before he was the muscled caped crusader with the washboard stomach and ripped biceps, Bale shed a staggering 63 pounds to portray Trevor Reznick, the haunted insomniac at the centre of Brad Anderson’s mystery The Machinist. It was a difficult film to watch, not only because of Bale’s emaciated physique but also due to his disturbing performance of a man plagued by his own disappearing shadow. His character claims he hasn’t slept in a year and his hollowed-out, purple-rimmed eyes and protruding bones more than hint that something is keeping him up at night – the question Bale makes us ask is, do we want to know what it is?

Batman Begins (2005):

That Christian Bale managed to flourish and rejuvenate a franchise where even George Clooney failed may be a combination of the right director, a better script, and a Batsuit void of pointed nipples, but much of the kudos is due to Bale’s nuanced performance and ability to create a conflicted super hero who doesn’t always have the answers. With his furrowed brow and icy demeanor, Bale made Batman a more complex, rather inscrutable character that resonated with comic book fans new and old and became an unlikely player in the blockbuster game.

The Prestige (2006):

This dramatic mind-game of a film marked Bale’s second collaboration with director Christopher Nolan. This time he abandons the Batman suit for the garb of lower-class magician Alfred Borden. The film centers around the rivalry between Bale and a fellow magician, played by Hugh Jackman, in turn-of-the-century London and follows their journey to the point of deadly obsession. Once again Nolan has found a way for Bale to channel his intensity into a character that, as Owen Gleiberman from EW describes it, “pushes passion to the brink of pathology.”

Rescue Dawn (2006):

Twenty years after Bale first hit the big screen as a young WWII POW, he returned to a similar role in this Werner Herzog feature film. This time around, the actor plays real-life hero Dieter Dengler, a Navy pilot shot down and held captive in a Laos jungle prison in 1966. In a film full of dramatic turns and near-death experiences – his character is responsible for helping his fellow prisoners escape only to fight for survival in the jungle – Bale shows a great deal of comfort in this largely physical yet charismatic role. Filmed entirely in the wilderness of Thailand, the film immediately takes on an almost documentary feel, heightened by the fact that the actor lived out in the jungle and subsisted off insects and worms as the real Dengler did years before. A truly authentic (almost method) actor in an almost too authentic film.

I’m Not There (2007):

With an all-star cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and Ben Wishaw taking on different incarnations of the enigmatic and iconic Bob Dylan, it would be understandable if Bale’s Jack and Pastor John characters got lost in the mix. But unsurprisingly, he would have none of that. Todd Haynes’ layered, purposely fractured examination of Dylan’s multiple identities and personas was the perfect vehicle for Bale, who is himself a reluctant celebrity, prone to extreme privacy and advancing his own myth. Bale’s stand-out scene in I’m Not There involves an emotionally charged performance of the song “Pressing On” where his born-again version of Dylan – paunchy belly, curly wig and all – belts it to the back room with a fervour and passion that can’t be faked.

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