His father was a former commercial pilot.

He replaced Leonardo DiCaprio for the film American Psycho (2000).

Has 3 older sisters: Erin, Sharon & Louise Bale'

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-inflection less mid-American accent, only revealing his dialectic roots with a few words.

Stepson of feminist author Gloria Steinem

Shares the role of Batman with Val Kilmer.

His grandfather was a stand-up comic and children's entertainer.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#13). [2007].

His mother was a former circus dancer.

Daughter Emmaline, born 27 March 2005.

Was arrested over assault allegations made by his mother and his sister just hours after he attended the European premiere of his movie The Dark Knight (2008) in London. [July 2008]

Lives in Los Angeles with his family.

Has been a Vegetarian since the age of six.

Was introduced to acting by his sister, Louise.

Beat out nearly 4,000 other auditions for the role of Jim Graham in Steven Spielberg`s Empire of the Sun (1987).

A very private individual, he has never publicly confirmed the name of his daughter.

His fans refer to themselves as "Baleheads".

Was good friends with actor Heath Ledger.

Although born and raised in Wales, his family is actually English.

If he plays an American character, he will use an American accent in all the interviews related to the film. He says he does this so the audience isn`t confused.

Since reading "Charlotte`s Web", he does not eat red meat.

Is a distant relative to the 19th-Century thespian Lily Langtry.

Considered for the role of Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).

Auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997) and almost got the role but people felt that it wouldn`t be "fair" having two Brits playing two Americans (Rose was American as well, she says in the movie that the Titanic was a slave ship bring her back to America).

Owned a home he shared with his sister, Louise Bale, in Manhattan Beach.

Is the youngest actor to portray Batman.

First non-American actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne.

The nameplate on his trailer for Batman Begins (2005) read "Bruce Wayne" as opposed to Bale`s name.

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).

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.

Two of his most famous character`s names have a difference of only one letter. Bateman and Batman.

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/English accent. Instead he spoke to Gross in an almost inflection-less mid-American accent, only revealing his dialectic roots with a few words.

His wife, Sibi Blazic, gave birth to the couple`s first child, a girl. The baby was born 27 March, 2005 in Santa Monica, California.

Turned down the opportunity to reprise the role of Patrick Bateman in the Roger Avary-directed The Rules of Attraction (2002).

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).

Considered getting formal acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) when he was twenty, but decided to focus on working instead.

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.

Met his wife through Winona Ryder; she was Ryder`s personal assistant.

His father was a former commercial pilot, and mother was a former circus dancer.

His great-uncle, Rex Bale, was an actor.

He was raised in England, Portugal and California.

His father, David Bale, died on 30 December 2003, from brain lymphoma at the age of 62.

His first on-screen role was in 1983 at age 9 in a British commercial for Pac-Man cereal.

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 street kids in Rio De Janeiro.

His father, David Bale, married feminist icon Gloria Steinem on September 3, 2000.

Bale was handpicked by Winona Ryder for the coveted role of Laurie (Theodore Laurence) in Little Women (1994).

He trained for 10 weeks in dancing and martial arts for the dance sequences in Newsies (1992) and Swing Kids (1993).

Is an excellent horseman and an avid reader.

Christian Bale`s trade mark: Often plays troubled characters

Before he played "Batman" in Batman Begins (2005), his sister Louise Bale played Batman`s mother in The Death of Batman (2003).

His wife, Sibi Blazic, gave birth to the couple`s first child, a girl. The baby was born 27 March, 2005 in Santa Monica, California.

With Batman Begins (2005), he has become the seventh actor to play Batman/Bruce Wayne in a live-action film.

He has three sisters: musician Erin Bale; computer professional Sharon Bale; and director/actress Louise Bale, who appeared in Newsies (1992).

His grandfather doubled for John Wayne in two movies, in Africa.

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.

Bale was handpicked by Winona Ryder for the coveted role of Laurie (Theodore Laurence) in Little Women (1994).

He trained for 10 weeks in dancing and martial arts for the dance sequences in Newsies (1992) and Swing Kids (1993).

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.

He has an uncanny ear for accents - he has used a different accent for each of his films to date.