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Christian Bale began acting from a young age and made his debut in a movie called Empire Of The Sun when he was thirteen. His portrayal received positive attention, and the actor began working in youth-oriented movies until 2000 when he starred in American Psycho, which magnified attention on his acting abilities. Bale went through severe physical transformations with every movie role to bring his characters to life. He has brought complex and dark characters to screen and worked in dramatic movies that have received critical acclaim. The star has also won several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a SAG, and the Critics’ Choice Award.
Bale has worked with some of the best directors in Hollywood, including Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, David O. Russell, and Mary Harron, to name a few. With movies that earn millions and billions at the box office, let’s look at Christian Bale’s top-ranked movies.
Public Enemies (2009)
Adapted from Bryan Burrough’s novel, Public Enemies is a biographical crime drama that tells the story of the FBI during the 1930s. Bale stars as an FBI Agent named Melvin Purvis, who is on a pursuit to catch a bank robber played by Johnny Depp. Directed by Michael Mann, the movie made $212.2 million globally.
Ford Vs. Ferrari (2019)
Christian used his original Welsh accent in a movie with Ford v Ferrari for the first time. The sports drama is about a group of British and American engineers trying to produce a car that can beat Ferrari at a LeMans Championship. As mentioned by Vulture, Bale portrays the character of driver Ken Miles opposite Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and grossed $224.4 million at the worldwide box office.
Howl’s Moving Castle (2005)
The Japanese anime movie Howl’s Moving Castle is a fantasy film inspired by the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003 and garnered $237.8 million. For the English dubbed version, Bale voiced the lead character of the wizard Howl, while the supporting characters were voiced by Billy Crystal, Josh Hutcherson, and Lauren Bacall.
American Hustle (2013)
An American black comedy crime film set in the late 1970s, American Hustle, was cited as one of the best movies of 2013 and received 10 Oscar Nominations, including Bale receiving a nomination for the Best Lead. According to Variety, the actor was cast as Irving Rosenfeld, a con artist with different layers. A critical and commercial success, it made $257.8 million in theaters.
Exodus: Gods And Kings (2014)
Eodus: Gods And Kings is based on the biblical Exodus episode that occurred in Egypt. Directed by acclaimed movie director Ridley Scott, the film grossed $268.3 million worldwide. It starred a series of A-List actors alongside Bale, including Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, and Ben Kingsley.
Based on the life of Pocahontas, the Powhatan woman who saved the life of English explorer John Smith, the movie was the 33rd Disney animation. It is Bale’s second voice acting role on the list, and he lent his voice to a minor character of Thomas, a loyal friend to John Smith. The movie was well-received in theatres and made $347.1 million.
Batman Begins (2005)
Audiences saw a much-awaited return of the Caped Crusader to the big screen with Christopher Nolan directing the Batman trilogy. Batman Begins collected $358.8 million worldwide and is cited as one of the best superhero origin movies, with Bale debuting in his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, as reported by Screen Rant. The movie also stars Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Michael Cain, and Cillian Murphy.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
The fourth movie in the Terminator series, Salvation, was an action-packed military science fiction movie raked $365.4 million at the box office. Bale rejected the role thrice before he accepted the part of the lead, John Connor. The movie stars Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Helena Bonham Carter in supporting roles.
The Dark Knight (2008)
A film that gave the world the best comic book movie villain of all time in Heath Ledger as the Joker, The Dark Knight is a masterpiece that is a perfect culmination of direction, cinematography, music score, and casting. It became the highest-grossing movie of 2008, earning $998 million, and Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for his supporting role opposite Bale as the Batman.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
A fitting end to the highly popular trilogy, Christian Bale returned as Batman for the third movie, The Dark Knight Rises, which grossed $1.08 billion at the box office and remained his highest-grossing movie to date. In the movie, Bale faces a ruthless terrorist, Bane, portrayed by Tom Hardy, as stated by Insider. Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain, and Gary Oldman reprised their roles while Anne Hathaway made her debut as Catwoman for the film.
Other notable roles in his acting profile include The Big Short, American Psycho, and The Prestige. Bale won an Academy Award for his supporting role in the sports drama The Fighter. He continues to actively work in movies and will be next seen starring in Thor: Love And Thunder as supervillain Gorr the God Butcher, which will be released in July 2022.
Sources: Vulture, Variety, Screen Rant, Insider