Christian Bale is an Oscar winner and “Batman” star, but he started out as a child actor in the 1980s. The experience of starring in a World War II film by Steven Spielberg in particular made him doubt his career choice.
Christian Bale, who later became Batman star, rose to fame as the murderous yuppie Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho” (2000). But his acting career began much earlier: Bale had already appeared as a child actor in various TV productions and in the Astrid Lindgren film adaptation “Mio, My Mio” in the 1980s. before he played a leading role for the first time in 1987 – at the age of 13. In a film by legendary director Steven Spielberg!
Thanks to blockbusters such as “Jaws,” “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial” and, up to that point, two “Indiana Jones” films, Spielberg was perhaps the most famous living filmmaker on the planet, but he had a reputation for having a knack for entertainment films. In the mid-1980s, the “Jurassic Park” creator wanted to prove the world wrong – and devoted himself to his first historical material, “The Color Purple.”
Instead of playing it safe, he followed up with the next historical film in 1987: “The Empire of the Sun“an adaptation of the novel of the same name by JG Ballard, which is set against the backdrop of the Japanese invasion of Shanghai during the Second World War. 11-year-old Jim (Bale), who until then had enjoyed a life of prosperity in the so-called British quarter, is suddenly separated from his parents – the starting point for a veritable odyssey that takes him, among other places, to a Japanese internment camp…
“Empire of the Sun” on Amazon Prime Video*
Compared to other Spielberg films (and its then-lavish budget of $25 million), Empire of the Sun was a flopand even more than 35 years later it is one of the lesser-known works of the master director – although in the opinion of the author of these lines it is definitely worth seeing: a visually powerful monumental film that combines the childlike wonder that permeates many of Spielberg’s genre works with the horrors of war in a fascinating and quite ambivalent way – with a main character who, despite his young age, is not an unfailingly sympathetic figure.
Bale was still a largely unknown quantity at the time, but received a lot of critical acclaim for his performance and a National Board Of Review Award for “Best Young Actor.” Nevertheless, the later Oscar winner (“The Fighter“) then seriously considered giving up his career – because the sudden Hollywood fame had a major impact on his private life, making normal development as a teenager almost impossible.
Christian Bale thinks children shouldn’t act
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for children at such a young age to take up a profession that is intended for adults”said Bale in an interview with The Talks“It doesn’t matter how much you see it as fun, because at the end of the day you have a responsibility that you shouldn’t have at that age. This experience made me realise that I didn’t want to be an actor. It wasn’t until a few years later that I decided to go back to it. I played a few small roles here and there, but for a long time my heart wasn’t really in it.” Nevertheless, the 50-year-old clarifies that his experiences with Spielberg were only positive.
Bale certainly has a point in this regard: the list of child stars who struggled with depression or drug addiction after their fame faded is long. But fortunately for many fans, the actor has changed his mind: Today, Bale is one of the biggest names in the industry – and notorious for his method acting.
If you want to know why he is dissatisfied with his performance in “The Dark Knight”, then read the following article:
“He ruined all my plans”: Christian Bale is unhappy with his Batman performance – and Heath Ledger is to blame
This is an updated re-publication of an article that previously appeared on FILMSTARTS.
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