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!

The Dark Knight (2008)

Bale plays Bruce Wayne / Batman in Christopher Nolan's definitive superhero film, grounding the caped crusader with psychological complexity.

1/12

American Psycho (2000)

Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a Wall Street banker and hidden serial killer, in a darkly satirical portrait of 1980s yuppie culture.

2/12

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.

3/12

The Fighter (2010)

Bale won the Oscar playing crack-addicted former boxer Dicky Eklund, who trains his half-brother for a world title shot.

4/12

The Big Short (2015)

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

5/12

Vice (2018)

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

6/12

Batman Begins (2005)

Bale plays the origins of Bruce Wayne's transformation into Batman in Christopher Nolan's grounded and psychologically rich reboot.

7/12

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.

8/12

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.

9/12

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.

10/12

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.

11/12

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.

12/12