Talk:Christian Bale

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Contents

[edit] Welsh and English?

How can someone be Welsh born and be an English actor? Surely this should read Welsh born and British actor? 68.219.227.41 02:50, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

Correct, he is Welsh, but he's turned his back on his country to pretend he is English so his popularity in America increases. No matter what he likes to think, he is Welsh.

Will you please listen to yourself, its pathetic. "He's turned his back on his country", this isnt the middle ages! He was born in Wales to English parents, and has never lived there since a very young age. As you will see from the discussion below, other famous people were born abroad, but that doens't make them that nationality. Angela Thorne was born in Pakistan, is she Pakistani? No. This applies to many people. Bale is of English ancestry, English upbringing and, its believed, called himself English; to say he's Welsh because he was born there is totally illogical. --Berks105 16:14, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
Angela Thorne was born in Pakistan, is she Pakistani? No.'

That is completely different, Wales and England are not independent states where citizenships and such like exist. Christian Bale's parent are of British citizenship, not English so he can not simply choose to be English. Angela Thorne can choose to be British, as her parents are of British citizenship, and I'm assuming she now is, but she can not choose to be English.

There again you are wrong. Angela Thorne is English, she was born in Pakistan (then India) because her parents were working there at the time. Your sentance "Christian Bale's parent are of British citizenship", then put him as British then! Not one is of English, Scottish or Welsh citizenship as they are not independant countries, but people from those countries and with that heritage are that nationality. See more at your Talk Page. --Berks105 18:45, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
How exactly does this Angela Thorne (whoever she is) qualify to be English? --Wiki119
Because her parents were English, she grew up there, lives there. You cannot, as you seem to suggest, judge someone nationality by their place of birth. --Berks105 20:17, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

Most of this section needs to go: e.g., "has two dogs called Mojo and Ramone and three cats called Miriam, Molly, and Lilly." An encyclopedia article is an overview or summary of human knowledge about a topic, not collection of trivia. — Matt Crypto 00:31, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Weight Loss/Gain

Bale didn't actually "gain back his original weight plus 20 pounds" for Batman--the fact that he gained the weight back and then some was actually a real problem, and he had to work out with a trainer in order to get in good enough shape to fit in the Batsuit. He comments in the DVD extras that that some of the crew members who knew him asked jokingly "Are we doing Batman or Fatman?" nmw 08:43, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Beard/Method

Who edited this page and took away that bearded pic of Christian and wrote Method Actor, he isn't a method actor, he's a character actor, calling him a method actor is insulting. --Killingthedream 11:28, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

I've no idea regarding your question, however I came here to ask whether Bale would be classified as a method actor, as he is often referred to in sources (e.g. here) and there's no such reference in the article. What makes him a character actor and not a method actor? Why would that be an insult anyway, since method actors are often highly regarded? No interest in ruffling any feathers here  :-) , just curious and trying to present the best article possible. --Estarriol talk 14:05, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Great Britain

Does Bale really speak with a Welsh accent? I don't see how that's possible, since he left Wales before he could talk. He has repeatedly stated over the years that, while he has no objection to being thought Welsh, he considers himself English. To my Yank ear, his accent is indeed typically English and not identifiably regional (i.e., Cockney, Cornish, Liverpuddlian, etc.).Magicmote 22:21, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 5 images!?

Isn't that way too many? We don't need all of them, and most of them should go. Atropos 04:28, 31 March 2006 (UTC)


And shouldn't there be a main non-character photo of Bale in the top right of the page (with DOB etc)? --KevinClayton 14:39, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Parentage

I would like to say that I posted a question as to whether it was definite as to who his mother is. This was erroneously removed as vandalism for some reason. There is ,i would like to point out , a significant debate as to who Bale's natural mother is and for that reason i don't think it should be definitively stated as Jenny James.

[edit] Dragon Ball Z

A sentence in the article of the character Vegeta from Dragonball Z stated that Dragonball Z was going to be made into a film, and that Bale had signed up to play Vegeta. Is this true?

[edit] Name?

Is it Christian Charles Philip Bale or Christian Morgan Bale? Searches on both yield significant results. --Antrophica 00:28, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

I have found Yahoo movies more accurate so I'd go with Morgan. Arniep 21:17, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Good Article listing

With the excellent referencing, NPOV and well-written prose, I believe this article meets Good Article standards, and have marked it as so. Please discuss any disagreement in this section. — Estarriol talk 11:41, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, hopefully it does. I spent two and a half straight days on it. --Antrophica 12:02, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re-Submit to WP:FA?

This article looks very good. One section could use expanding or just a merge. Early life and Career. That's about it.. Bugs5382 09:49, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fat 'Conversion'

In the section regarding Bale's weight shifts from 'The Machinist' to 'Batman Begins' there is an (understandable) error: "gaining exactly one hundred pounds in six months. He then worked toward converting most of it into muscle". This is a physiological impossibility, you do not convert fat into anything other than usable energy for the body. Muscle and fat are two different tissue types... -- romeo_uva 01:42, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Christian Bale is English

christian bale who has English parents and was brought up in England allways considers himself English like the English born John Rhys-Davies considers himself Welsh.

  • I can sift through the internet and find interviews, articles, etc. that say Christian Bale is Welsh. Apparently Michael Caine told an interviewer that Bale calls himself Welsh. Being a British actor working in the United States, that quote could have just been Bale yielding to the common practise of Americans to call anyone from the British Isles "English" (with the exception of the Irish of course). I don't think that is legitimate proof of what Bale considers himself, which is really unimportant anyway. If you were born in Wales, you are Welsh. I am not going to change it again, because it is not important enough and I don't see the need for "edit wars". Movementarian (Talk) 03:02, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm afraid i too can sift through the internet and on IMDB alone find two quotes where he calls himself English, he also has a clear English accent (when it is not American!). You cannot seriously believe that a persons place of birth defines their nationality, there are plenty of examples of that not being the case on Wikipedia. I also have to say that i find it hard to believe that if he thought of himself as Welsh he would openly say he was English to please the Americans! Considering he left Wales at the age of 2 and has English parents i fail to see how he could see himself as Welsh. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.3.114.157 (talk • contribs).

  • I can say he is Welsh because he was born there, it is called Jus soli. An excellent arguement can be made either way, or you could go the other by saying he is Portuguese. Movementarian (Talk) 08:41, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
    • I don't think this really applies as Wales and England are legally the same country (UK). The fact he was born in Wales gives him no special citizenship rights he wouldnt have got if he was born in England. --Berks105 10:03, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

That very article describes objective nationality as being the mainstay, i think that is far more approriate here. Nationality is what you percieve yourself and nothing to do with Jus Soli. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.166.67.227 (talk • contribs).

  • I disagree. Nationality has much to do with where you were born. There are other ways to determine ones nationality, but birth has much to do with it. I can believe that I am Japanese all day long, but that does not make it true. Movementarian (Talk) 09:18, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
  • The fact Christian Bale was born in Wales is totally immaterial. Angela Thorne was born in India/Pakistan but now one is calling her Indian. This applies to many other actors. You are Welsh born in you have Welsh heritage but then move abroad, to American say. Someone who has English parents, who was born in Wales and lived their for only 2 years is not Welsh-born. Bale even calls himself English (as referenced), so putting Welsh-born is totally riduclous. --Berks105 09:59, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
    • Someone who is born in Wales is Welsh-born, it seems kind of simple. If Wales and England are the same country, as you say above (you aren't Welsh are you?) why not call him a British actor? Movementarian (Talk) 10:36, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
      • Legally Wales and England are the same country. I would not wish to call him British as it is too general, and importantly he himself calls himself English. The country of someone's birth is totally immaterial to their nationality, as I said before would you call Angela Thorne Indian-born or Francesca Annis Brazillian-born? No of course you wouldn't, so there is no reason to call Bale Welsh-born.--Berks105 11:07, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
        • Please don't assume that you can answer a question for me, it is insulting and patronising. You never know if I would consider Angela Thorne an Indian or Francesca Annis a Brazilian, which is not the best of analogies anyway. This is more akin to whether a Canadian who is born in Quebec is a French-Canadian even though his parents are from Ontario. It is much more palatable to call Bale a British actor, rather than alienating the Welsh or English (BBC Wales calls him Welsh, you can scour the internet and make a case for either.). One quote in one interview does not make a concrete case for nationality. The fact that his parents are English is just as immaterial, as his father is now an American. Why does he have to be one or the other, why can't he be British? Movementarian (Talk) 11:56, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
          • I just believe that British is too general, we could describe everyone from the whole of the UK as British. His parents are English (someone's parents do have a baring on the child's nationality to an extent), and I really don't believe that spending the first two years of his life in Wales means that he has to be British not English. He has lived in England ever since, has English parents and calls himself English. Surely this is enough? --Berks105 12:27, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
            • Bale spent his childhood in Wales, England, Portugal, and the United States. He called himself English one time, in one interview. His dad is now an American. Movementarian (Talk) 12:37, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
              • I thought his father was dead? But anyway, I think the important thing is what he calls himself (see also Keira Knightley, where we sourced her calling herself English). He also calls himself English according to this [1] (look to the bottom of page). --Berks105 12:41, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
                • If you want Christian Bale then you have to take Madonnna too. Movementarian (Talk) 12:44, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Profile Picture

Alright, what sense does it make to have a picture of Bale as a child?? Especially since his success has come post-2000.

  • Reply: Yeah, I agree with your opinion. It seems a a-bit stupid to have a picture of him as a "Man-Child". The Bale article also has many POV statements without citing any sources.

[edit] 11-year gap

The article starts dealing deeply with his very first performances up to 1989, and then suddenly goes straight to 1999, leaving a 11-year gap. That is hardly a "good article" feature, no matter how well written is the rest. I mean, there is obviously a need of development there, even if Bale's career "really" started with American Psycho. Nazroon 17:11, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

This is an excellent article read concerning Christian Bale for whom I earlier confused with Jim Cavaziel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Berniethomas68 19:00, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

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