Bale studied the work of actor Gary Oldman, citing him as “the reason I’m acting”. His first role was a commercial for the fabric softener Lenor in 1982. A year later, he appeared in a Pac-Man cereal commercial, playing a child rock star. In 1984, he made his stage debut in The Nerd on London’s West End with Rowan Atkinson.

Bale made his film debut as Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia in the made for television film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna in 1986, which was followed by leading roles in the miniseries Heart of the Country and the fantasy adventure Mio in the Land of Faraway, in which he appeared with Christopher Lee and Nick Pickard. His performance as the boy Jim Graham in Empire of the Sun (1987) earned him widespread critical praise and the first “Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor” award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. The attention the press and his schoolmates lavished upon him after this took a toll on Bale, and he contemplated giving up acting. But Kenneth Branagh approached him and persuaded Bale to appear in Henry V in 1989, which he found to be a good experience. In 1990, he played the role of Jim Hawkins opposite Charlton Heston (as Long John Silver) in Treasure Island, a film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic book.

Bale’s parents divorced in 1991. His mother and sister Sharon stayed in Bournemouth, and Bale moved with his father to Los Angeles, California at age seventeen.

Bale starred in the musical films Newsies and Swing Kids, the latter about teenagers who secretly listened to forbidden jazz during the rise of Nazi Germany. Bale was recommended by actress Winona Ryder to star in director Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 film Little Women. Bale voiced Thomas, a young compatriot of Captain John Smith, in Disney’s Pocahontas (1995). In 1997 he played Arthur Stuart in Velvet Goldmine, Todd Haynes’ tribute to glam rock. In 1999, Bale contributed to an all-star cast, including Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, and Rupert Everett, portraying Demetrius in an updated version of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In 1999, Bale played serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, director Mary Harron’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same title. Bale was briefly dropped from the project in favour of Leonardo DiCaprio, but DiCaprio eventually dropped out to star in The Beach. Bale was again cast in the role. He researched his character by studying the novel and prepared himself physically for the role by spending months tanning and exercising in order to achieve the “Olympian physique” of the character as described in the original novel. He distanced himself from the cast and crew in order to maintain the darker side of Bateman’s character. American Psycho premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival to much controversy. Roger Ebert condemned the film at first, calling it pornography and “the most loathed film at Sundance.” Nonetheless, he gave it a favourable review, writing that director Harron had “transformed a novel about bloodlust into a film about men’s vanity.” Of Bale’s performance, he wrote, “Christian Bale is heroic in the way he allows the character to leap joyfully into despicability; there is no instinct for self-preservation here, and that is one mark of a good actor.”

On 14 April 2000, Lions Gate Films released American Psycho in cinemas. Bale was later approached to make a cameo appearance in another Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, The Rules of Attraction, a film loosely connected to American Psycho, but he declined out of loyalty to Harron’s vision of Bateman. He believed that it could not be properly expressed by any other director. In 2000, he played a wealthy murderer in John Singleton’s Shaft. Bale’s first role after American Psycho was in the John Madden adaptation of the best-selling novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Bale played Mandras, a Greek fisherman who vied with Nicolas Cage’s title character for the affections of Pelagia (Penélope Cruz). Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was Bale’s second time working with John Hurt, after All the Little Animals.

On 29 January 2000, Bale married “Sibi” Blažić (born 1970), a Serbian-American former model, make-up artist, and personal assistant to actress Winona Ryder. The couple have two children: a daughter, Emmaline (born 2005), and a son, Joseph (born 2014).

In 2000, Bale became the stepson of feminist Gloria Steinem, who married his father David Bale that year. The senior Bale died in 2003 of a brain lymphoma.

From 2002 to 2003, Bale starred in three feature films, such as Laurel Canyon (2002), which was generally well received by critics. This film marked the second time he worked with actress Kate Beckinsale, his co-star in Prince of Jutland (1994). Critics generally focused on star Frances McDormand’s performance over the rest of the cast, however.

After a year off, Bale returned in 2004 to play Trevor Reznik, the title character in the psychological thriller The Machinist. Bale gained attention for his devotion to the role; he went to great lengths to achieve Reznik’s emaciated, skeletal appearance. He went without proper rest for prolonged periods, and placed himself on a crash diet of generally coffee and apples, which reduced his weight by 4 stone 7 pounds (29 kg; 63 lb) in a matter of months. By the end of filming, Bale weighed only 8 stone 9 pounds (55 kg; 121 lb), a transformation he described as “very calming mentally”. His actions prompted comparisons to Robert De Niro’s weight-gaining regimen for his role as Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film Raging Bull.

In 2004, after completing filming for The Machinist, Bale won the lead role of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, a reboot of the Batman film series. Still relatively unknown, Bale was picked over Jake Gyllenhaal, his closest competitor for the role.

Batman Begins was released in the US on 15 June 2005 and was a US and international triumph for Warner Bros., costing approximately $135 million to produce and taking in more than $370 million in returns worldwide. Bale’s performance was well received by critics and fans alike, earning him the Saturn Award for Best Actor and the Best Hero award at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards. He also provided his voice and likeness for the video game adaptation of the film.

After Batman Begins, Bale returned to appearing in independent films. He was cast as one of the two lead roles in the South Central Los Angeles David Ayer-helmed crime drama Harsh Times, co-starring Freddy Rodriguez and Eva Longoria. Bale played Jim Luther Davis, an aloof Afghanistan War veteran afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder, approached by the Department of Homeland Security and hired as a federal agent. Harsh Times premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and had a wide release on 10 November 2006.

In 2006, Bale took on four projects. Rescue Dawn, by German filmmaker Werner Herzog, had him playing US fighter pilot Dieter Dengler, who has to fight for his life after being shot down while on a mission during the Vietnam War. Bale left a strong impression on Herzog, with the director complimenting his acting abilities: “I find him one of the greatest talents of his generation. We made up our own minds long before he did Batman.”

Bale reprised the role of Batman in the sequel The Dark Knight. He trained in the Keysi Fighting Method, and performed many of his own stunts. The Dark Knight was released in the US on 18 July 2008 and stormed through the box office, with a record-breaking $158.4 million in the US in its first weekend. It broke the $300 million barrier in 10 days, the $400 million mark in 18 days and the $500 million mark in 43 days, three new US box office records set by the film. The film went on to gross more than $1 billion at the box office worldwide, making it the fourth highest-grossing movie worldwide ever at that time, before adjusting for inflation. It also ranks as one of the most critically acclaimed superhero films ever made.

In July 2008, Bale flew into an angry rant on the set of Terminator Salvation, while filming in New Mexico. In February 2009, the audio recording of the incident was released. The tirade was directed at Shane Hurlbut, director of photography for the film. According to Bale, Hurlbut had, for the second time, ruined his concentration by walking onto the set during a scene. The recording is of Bale directing profanities at Hurlbut, threatening and belittling him, and finally threatening to quit the film if Hurlbut repeated the offense without being fired for it. It was reported that Warner film executives sent the tape to the insurer of the film in case Bale decided to quit the movie.

On 22 July 2008, Bale was arrested in London after being accused of assault by his mother, Jenny, and sister, Sharon, at The Dorchester hotel. After his mother and sister called the authorities, Bale was held for more than four hours. He was released on bail, pending further investigation. On 14 August 2008, police declared that they would take no further action against him. Bale denied that any assault had occurred, and charges were not laid for lack of evidence.

Actors Whoopi Goldberg and Terry Crews, directors Darren Aronofsky and Ron Howard, as well as Ain’t It Cool News website creator Harry Knowles have also publicly defended Bale’s actions. Some have noted that it is customary for crew members to remain still while the camera is rolling. Experimental band The Mae Shi wrote the song, “R U Professional”, which features samples from the recording; similarly, Lucian Piane’s remix “Bale Out” is composed almost entirely of audio from the incident. Stephen Colbert parodied the incident on 4 February 2009 episode of The Colbert Report, in which guest Steve Martin repeatedly walked in front of the camera and was berated by Colbert. The incident was re-enacted on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, with Inside the Actor’s Studio host James Lipton portraying both Bale and the crew member. The “Oh, goooood for you!” sound bite has become a regular drop from Fred Norris of The Howard Stern Show.

Bale made a public apology on 6 February 2009, to a Los Angeles radio station, KROQ, stating that the outburst was “inexcusable” and was motivated by the intensity of that day’s shooting. Bale said he “acted like a punk”, and that he and Hurlbut talked after the incident and “resolved this completely”. Bale acknowledged that the two worked together for several hours after the incident. He said, “at least a month after that… I’ve seen a rough cut of the movie and he has done a wonderful job. It looks fantastic.”

In December 2010, it was announced that Bale would star in the historical drama war film, The Flowers of War, directed by Zhang Yimou. While filming The Flowers of War in January 2011, Bale and a CNN crew attempted to visit Chen Guangcheng, a blind “barefoot lawyer” under unofficial house arrest for his activism against China’s One Child Policy. While on camera, Bale was punched, shoved, and denied access by dozens of Chinese security guards who failed to recognise him. Bale later added that he had wanted “to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is”. Video footage also showed Bale and the CNN crew having stones thrown at them. A minivan chased their car for more than 40 minutes.

Bale currently resides in Brentwood, Los Angeles, having previously lived in Santa Monica, California. He applied for US citizenship in 2010 and completed the naturalisation process in 2014.

Bale starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in David O. Russell’s 2010 drama film The Fighter. Bale’s portrayal of Dicky Eklund, for which he lost 2 stone 2 pounds (14 kg; 30 lb), was universally acclaimed: he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and 30 other awards in 2011 for the performance. Near the end of his acceptance speech during the televised Golden Globes awards ceremony, Bale complimented Robert De Niro by saying he was “the shit”. The comment was censored by NBC.

Bale has been described in the media as one of the most versatile and talented actors of his generation. The media considers Bale a sex symbol, an image he has confessed to disliking: “All you have to do is stand on this side of the red carpet and you’re called a sex symbol. There’s no more to it than that.” In 2011, he was listed among the Time 100, a compilation of the 100 most influential people in the world selected annually by Time.

Bale reprised the role again for the sequel The Dark Knight Rises, released on 20 July 2012. Bale became the actor to have portrayed Batman on film for the lengthiest period. Following the shooting at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, he visited survivors of the movie theatre in an Aurora, Colorado hospital. The film garnered further critical praise and financial achievement, earning more than $1 billion worldwide. Currently, the film is the 27th highest-grossing film worldwide unadjusted for inflation, and the third highest-grossing film released in 2012. It was the most financially successful movie in which Bale has starred.

In 2013, Bale portrayed Russell Baze in Scott Cooper’s thriller Out of the Furnace. He starred as Moses in Ridley Scott’s Biblical epic, Exodus: Gods and Kings, which was released on 12 December 2014.

Bale portrayed Dick Cheney in the biographical comedy-drama Vice (2018), written and directed by Adam McKay. For this role, Bale, once again, underwent a major body transformation and received widespread acclaim as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actor. His nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Vice was announced on 22 January 2019. Bale portrays Ken Miles in the action biographical drama Ford v Ferrari (2019), directed by James Mangold.