LOS ANGELES, California-What lurks beneath Christian Bale, the man who is making headlines for being arrested and released on an assault claim, and for the box-office record shattering performance of his second Batman movie, “The Dark Knight”?
In our interviews with Christian over the years, including three last year, he has been a consistently very private man who doesn’t even want to reveal his daughter’s name. In a sentence or two, he answered a question about his family, but he quickly stressed that he didn’t want to elaborate on “personal” matters.
He rarely talked about his mother, Jenny, whom he allegedly confronted last Sunday in a London hotel when she reportedly insulted his wife of eight years, Sandra “Sibi” Blazic. According to reports, a complaint of verbal assault was filed by Jenny and the actor’s sister, Sharon. Christian was questioned by the police and released without charges. The papers also reported that Christian’s marriage to Sibi, the mother of his 3-year-old daughter, whose name is variously spelled as Emmaline and Emmeline in news stories, is “enduring difficulties.”
Fondness
Despite his private nature, the Wales-born actor talked with obvious fondness of his late father, RAF pilot David Bale, who separated with Jenny, a former circus performer, when Christian was 13. David was married to feminist Gloria Steinem when he died in 2003, after his son bagged the plum Batman role in “Batman Begins.”
A child actor who was picked by Steven Spielberg to star in “Empire of the Sun,” Christian laid low in his adolescent years. Then, at 17, he joined his father in Los Angeles to resume his acting career. Shunning the glitzy aspects of Hollywood, he managed to carve out a reputation as a solid actor in such films as “American Psycho,” “The Machinist,” “Batman Begins,” “The New World,” “The Prestige” and “3:10 to Yuma.” He’ll be seen next in the new “Terminator” film.
In the brooding “The Dark Knight,” Christian is not only making box-office history, but his performance is also winning critical acclaim-along with that of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker.
In interviews, Christian may appear to be quiet, reserved and laconic, but his sense of humor also comes through. His serious mien breaks when he makes wry observations. He memorably told us once that his “American Psycho” is “just hilarious. It’s an out and out comedy from beginning to end, but not everybody seems to share my sense of humor.” When he says things like those, his observant eyes twinkle, for a change. Like any good actor, he constantly observes people’s behavior. He’s always alert, takes everything in.
Insight
On working with filmmaker Werner Herzog in “Rescue Dawn” in Thailand, Christian shared this observation, which somehow gave an illuminating insight into the man behind the actor: “I don’t know about you, but the folks whom I consider friends have many sides to them. Can you truly know anybody if you haven’t been through disagreements and arguments? Did Werner and I have those? Yes. Did I enjoy them? Yes, and I love them. Some of them were completely wrong!
“One time, when I was on a bridge about 50 meters away from Werner, he was shouting something to somebody. I thought he was talking to me, and the people around us thought he was, too-and I didn’t like the way he was talking! I started shouting back to him. We were shouting at each other after that.
Misunderstanding
“It was a complete misunderstanding, because we weren’t even talking about the same thing. So, after that, we were laughing again. I have a great deal of affection for Werner. He has crazy dreams that he tries to realize. Everybody admires that when they see people trying to do something that doesn’t appear to be practical. I like that about Werner. I would have days when I’d give him a bear hug. There would also be days when I’d be looking at him, trying to work out how I was going to strangle him! But, I tell you, I’d readily work with him again! He’s one of the most interesting men I’ve ever worked with.”
Of his sisters, Erin, Louise and Sharon, he said: “My sisters were creative. Erin was a musician, and Louise actually started acting long before me. It was something not overly encouraged by my parents.”
The following are his reminiscences of his father in various chats with us: “My dad was quite an unconventional man. He enjoyed the fact that we had ideas and dreams about doing things. He always encouraged that. Other people kind of laughed and told us we were crazy for having those dreams.
“My father played an enormous role in my life. I’ve been asked by other people who my hero was. I never really had superhero notions as a child, but my father certainly was the person who fulfilled that role for me!
“My father and I were in Jamaica when we found that there were people who were capturing some beautiful sea turtles. They were putting them into this tiny cage-one on top of another. Then, we discovered that they caught a shark, and they were going to stick the shark in front of those turtles to see what would happen.
“In the middle of the night, my father and I went out with wire cutters and crawled along the pier. We dived under, clipped the fence and lifted it up. I got in with the sea turtles and let them all out. It was a wonderful feeling!”
Of his famous stepmother, Gloria Steinem, Christian observed, “She lectures, writes books-she’s involved in many projects, and she travels all over the place. It’s hard to keep up with her because she never stops. ”
Wonderful things
He once said of his wife, Sibi: “I love her dearly. She’s done wonderful things in my life, which have changed me incredibly. But, I’d rather not talk more about it.”
In another press con, he commented about Sibi: “I have a very strong wife. I find that I’ve been doing my best work since I’ve been with her.”
Since his daughter was born in 2005, Christian offered only the following quotes: “I’ve fallen in love all over again, but other than that, I’d rather remain private about it. I chose this job-she didn’t. When she chooses to, that’s her choice-not mine.
“I fell in love with her instantly. She’s got the most incredible stare-she intimidates adults with it. I find that fascinating! She seemed like an old soul from the day that she was born.
“She’s up to walking, talking, being cheeky and getting into lots of trouble. Having a child does change you. I have something of massive importance in my life, which is way more important than anything else. I think that helps. Anybody who solely has acting in his life is going to be in circles a great deal!”
“It’s important to me as an actor that the older I get, the more I like having a purpose other than the movies,” the 34-year-old actor once declared. “It helps me a great deal. You can get too obsessed with acting and forget that the point of it is that it comes from life. You have to have a very full life, so you can use that for acting.”
About losing over 60 pounds to achieve his alarmingly emaciated look in “The Machinist,” he explained: “The best comparison I can make is that if you’re feeling ill, you realize quickly what’s necessary to do and what’s a waste of time. Having little energy means you’re very selective about what you expend that energy on. It meant that I had more patience. I lost that as soon as I started eating again!
Temperamental
“My being temperamental-being moody, and having highs and lows-returned, whereas when I was underweight, everything was a constant. I was a very calming presence, even if somewhat nerve-wracking to look at, physically. It was a comforting and happy place! I miss it in a way. I wish I could stay in that mental state.”
On going to the other extreme, bulking up for his first Batman movie, and whether it affected him, he admitted, “It absolutely did, because I felt more intimidating. It made you feel like you could bully people, just by the force of physical intimidation.”
“I’m an animal lover,” declared Christian, who watched his mother perform in circuses when he was a boy. “I grew up with that in my family. But, let’s not pretend like I do extraordinary things that other people don’t.”
Speaking about the winged creatures that inspired his two career-defining blockbusters led to these comments that enlighten us about the man: “I certainly don’t have specific phobias such as what Batman has with bats. In fact, I like bats very much. When there were bats on the set, I had them walking up and down my arms, shoulders, and all over my head! Generally, I associate fear with boredom more than anything else. It was something that my father was very adamant about-that the greatest thing to be fearful of was being boring and being bored!’
Masculinity
Asked to define masculinity, he offered this: “It’s about recognizing responsibilities and standing up for them, even if they’re not in keeping with your personal ambitions. It’s a mixture of warrior attitude, where you would want to fight for what is yours, and at the same time, be willing to sacrifice your ambitions for the sake of the family or tribe-or whatever it is that you’re responsible for.”
On being cast and then being taken out of the “American Psycho” role (he, of course, eventually got it), he confessed, “I was livid throughout the whole experience. I was not accepting it (being off the project). I refused!” Laughing, he added, “I was obsessive during that time, because I continued to prepare for the role even though it wasn’t mine.”
When we interviewed him as “Batman Begins” was about to open, he reflected on the fame that was poised to change his life forever: “I hope that I’m now of an age where I would be able to deal with it somewhat better and have a better sense of perspective on it. It’s not something I’ve experienced. I would hope that I can control fame with a desire not to become a ridiculously sheltered and cut-off person in that horrible world of celebrity. I hope that this would be conveyed through my choices of movies. So many people pursue being movie stars, but that has never been my goal! Hopefully, that will be evident in the choices I make.”
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