What is the best Christian Bale performance of all time?

The actor who became a byword for physical transformation — from skeletal to muscular, obscure to iconic — his most celebrated roles are studies in obsession and reinvention. Cast your vote!

1. 1
   The Dark Knight (2008)

   Bale plays Bruce Wayne / Batman in Christopher Nolan's definitive superhero film, grounding the caped crusader with psychological complexity.
2. 2
   American Psycho (2000)

   Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a Wall Street banker and hidden serial killer, in a darkly satirical portrait of 1980s yuppie culture.
3. 3
   The Machinist (2004)

   Bale lost 63 pounds for this role as an emaciated, guilt-ridden factory worker who has not slept in a year and questions his own sanity.
4. 4
   The Fighter (2010)

   Bale won the Oscar playing crack-addicted former boxer Dicky Eklund, who trains his half-brother for a world title shot.
5. 5
   The Big Short (2015)

   Bale plays eccentric hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who predicted the 2008 financial crash and bet against the housing market.
6. 6
   Vice (2018)

   Bale gained 40 pounds to play Dick Cheney, transforming himself physically and politically in this audacious biopic of the shadowy vice president.
7. 7
   Batman Begins (2005)

   Bale plays the origins of Bruce Wayne's transformation into Batman in Christopher Nolan's grounded and psychologically rich reboot.
8. 8
   Ford v Ferrari (2019)

   Bale plays the fearless British racing driver Ken Miles, who pushes a custom Ford GT40 to its limits at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.
9. 9
   Empire of the Sun (1987)

   A child Bale delivers a stunning debut as a British boy separated from his parents during WWII Japan and forced to survive a POW camp.
10. 10
    American Hustle (2013)

    Bale plays the pot-bellied, combover-sporting conman Irving Rosenfeld, caught between loyalty and self-preservation in David O. Russell's 1970s caper.
11. 11
    3:10 to Yuma (2007)

    Bale plays a struggling rancher who agrees to escort a notorious outlaw to a prison train, testing his courage and morals in this revisionist Western.
12. 12
    Rescue Dawn (2006)

    Bale shed weight again for this true story of a U.S. pilot who escapes a Laotian POW camp during the Vietnam War era.