Christian Bale is one of the most talented and versatile actors that is currently working in Hollywood. And while he is famed for his slightly off the wall characters he has enjoyed blockbuster roles in recent years.
Bale kicked off his career in TV with roles in Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna and Heart of the Country before moving into movies.
It was Empire of the Sun in 1987 that made him into a child star as he took on the role of Jim Graham in Steven Spielberg's war drama.
And while he continued to work throughout the nineties in Little Women, Pocahontas and A Midsummer Night's Dream it was to be his role in American Psycho that proved to be the breakthrough performance.
He took on the role of serial killer Patrick Bateman and while the movie split the critics at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000 the movie has gone on to gain a cult following.
Bale went on to star in Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Equilibrium but he grabbed everyone's attention again in 2004 when he took on The Machinist.
The actor went above and beyond the call of duty when preparing from the role of Trevor Reznik, who suffers from chronic insomnia, as he lost more that sixty pounds to achieve his character's skeletal appearance.
Despite only receiving a limited release Bale's performance was critically acclaimed and, lets face it, he should have received an Oscar nomination.
After The Machinist the actor found himself in a race against time to put all of the weight back on as he landed the role of Batman.
He needed to gain 100 pounds in six months as Christopher Nolan breathed new life into the seemingly dead franchise.
The movie was a critical and commercial success as it took in excess of $327 million at the global box office, making back it's $150 million budget.
Batman Begins saw Bale step into the mainstream and he soon became one of Hollywood's biggest names as the movie roles flooded in.
But the actor mixed and matched his roles as he continued to take on slightly off centre characters in Harsh Times, I'm Not There and Rescue Dawn.
Rescue Dawn, which was directed by Werner Herzog, saw the actor take on the role U.S. Fighter pilot Dieter Dengler who was shot down and captured during the Vietnam War.
Once again Bale dropped the weight for the role and turned in another extraordinary performance - but was once again overlooked when awards season rolled around.
He returned to the role of Bruce Wayne in 2008 in The Dark Knight and the movie went on to break the $1 billion barrier at the box office, joining some illustrious company.
Since then he has taken on more mainstream projects as he starred as John Connor in Terminator Salvation and alongside Johnny Depp in Public Enemies.
He is back on the big screen later this year with his new movie The Fighter, his performance is already being talked about for a possible Oscar nomination.
And a third Batman movie is on the horizon as Nolan is currently casting the movie.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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