Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. His accolades include an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four BAFTAs. He was one of the highest-paid actors in 2014, and The Independent later named him one of the greatest actors of the 21st century. Bale had his breakthrough role at age 13 in Steven Spielberg's 1987 war film Empire of the Sun. After more than a decade of leading and supporting roles in films, he gained wider recognition for his portrayals of the serial killer Patrick Bateman in the black comedy American Psycho (2000) and the title role in the thriller The Machinist (2004). He played the superhero Batman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012), one of the highest-grossing film franchises. Outside his work as Batman, Bale had starring roles in a range of films. For his portrayal of the boxer Dicky Eklund in David O. Russell's biographical film The Fighter (2010), he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Further Academy Award nominations came for his work in Russell's black comedy American Hustle (2013) and Adam McKay's biographical satires The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). For portraying the American vice president Dick Cheney in the latter, he won a second Golden Globe. Bale has since played Ken Miles in the sports drama Ford v Ferrari (2019) and Gorr the God Butcher in the superhero film Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).