Christian Bale by Harrison Cheung Read Free Book Online

to the one thing in his life that could be a success.
    But David’s social skills would pay off soon enough for both of them.

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Bale-Out
    BALE (noun)
    Etymology : Middle English, from Old English bealu; akin to Old High German balo evil, Old Church Slavic bol Ä­ sick person
    Date : before twelfth century
    1: great evil
    2: woe, sorrow
    â€”Source: Merriam Webster
    â€œI have a very sissy job, where I go to work and get my hair done, and people do my makeup, and I go and say lines and people spoil me rotten.”
    â€”Christian Bale, Esquire
    I n 1990, after the critical success of Treasure Island , which aired as a TNT TV movie in the U.S., Christian’s father, David, was buoyed by Christian’s show business prospects. Christian clearly still had acting talent!
    During this time, however, David was fighting a war with Christian’s mother, Jenny, over their son’s future—specifically whether it was to be in England or in America. In fact, with Christian’s girlfriend, Natalie, on Jenny’s side, England presented anattractive option to the young teenager. Christian would return to England, finish school in Bournemouth, and go to university in England with Natalie. Christian enjoyed writing and had an interest in studying English. Jenny and Natalie pointed out other successful child actors like Jodie Foster and Jennifer Connelly, who had taken a break in their movie careers to go to university. Jenny strongly believed that a university education would prepare Christian for a happier future.
    But on the strength of Treasure Island and a small part in a 1991 British TV movie, A Murder of Quality —which starred Denholm Elliot and Glenda Jackson and was based on a book by John le Carré—David managed to get Christian a U.S. talent agent with Triad Talent Agency. This was no small matter because even though Christian had been the star of a Steven Spielberg movie, it was years ago when he was just thirteen. The cruel reality for many child actors was that they were cast for their prepubescent looks, and often grew into unmarketable adults. Think about the post-Spielberg careers of Henry Thomas ( E.T .), C. Thomas Howell ( E.T .), Joseph Mazello ( Jurassic Park ), Jonathan Ke Quan ( Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ), or Corey Feldman ( The Goonies ). Fortunately for Christian, he didn’t have an awkward public puberty—usually the death knell for many a child actor. Instead, young Christian was filling out nicely, growing into a handsome young man, six feet tall, with cheek bones like a male model.
    â€œI’ve been lucky,” Christian told a reporter about transitioning through puberty, “because there wasn’t a sudden leap where people were saying: ‘Oh what a cute kid,’ and then it’s: ‘Bloody hell, what happened there, he’s got zits and hair in his armpits!’”
    With the help of Christian’s new U.S. agent, David landed a three-picture deal with Disney. Christian would be paid more than $250,000 for his first picture. Not bad for a seventeen-year-old! Of course, you have to subtract the agent’s 10 percent fee,and David paid himself another 5 percent as Christian’s manager. Minus taxes and the costs of headshots, audition travel, clothes, and grooming, and an actor becomes quite an involved little business. And imagine David doing the math if his son could make at least two or three pictures a year! David triumphantly showed off the contract to Jenny, who could no longer argue about her son’s potential in the U.S. She was still worried about Christian’s inability to handle pressure, but she had to agree with David that life in America was looking very comfortable and prosperous.
    Based in Burbank, California, Disney had a long-established reputation for discovering, developing, and debuting new talent since the days of the Mickey Mouse Club. Many first-time directors (like Kenny Ortega) got their