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Let's talk about Christian Bale. Who doesn't love this guy? Whether he's murdering prostitutes, dropping an unhealthy amount of weight for a role or singing on horseback, this actor brings unsurpassed dedication to each one of his performances.

Bale appeared in his first movie at age 13 when Steven Spielberg selected him for the 1987 film Empire of the Sun. After this debut, Bale landed several movie and TV roles, notably in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, in which he played Falstaff's Boy. Three years later, and with several strong performances under his belt, came Newsies.

Newsies is a film set in New York and tells the story of the 1899 newsboys strike. Bale occupies the leading role of Jack Kelly, a complex character who is often torn between his past, his allegiance to the newsies, and the monetary lure of newspaper moguls. Although the film was a commercial disaster (one of Disney's poorest grossing live-action films ever), it has since gained a significant cult following, and was finally released on DVD in 2002. For anyone who doesn't think Christian Bale is the driving force behind the rise in popularity of Newsies, just look at the rise in popularity of Christian Bale himself.

After a series of movies, TV appearances and voice-overs throughout the 1990s, Bale finally became a household name after playing Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, the 2000 adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis book of the same name. Due to its intense sexual content and graphic violence, the film experienced only minor success commercially, grossing just over $15 million at the box office. American Psycho did, however, earn much critical acclaim and establish Bale as one of the premiere leading men in cinema.

The film also exemplifies a common practice of Bale's, which is to take on complex or controversial characters. In the 1998 Velvet Goldmine, Bale played a homosexual journalist. After American Psycho, Bale has since morphed his body for roles that would make any nutritionist shudder. Bale shed 60 pounds - 1/3 of his body weight - to play the sleep-deprived Trevor Reznik in The Machinist (2004). He put it all back on plus 20 pounds of muscle by for his role as Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins (2005). Bale reprised the Batman role with 2008's The Dark Knight, a film that ranks fourth on the all-time, worldwide box office gross list at just over $1 billion.

Going on extreme diets and portraying homosexuals is all well and good, but playing a singing, dancing newsboy in Newsies and 10 years later being one of the hottest actors around is, well, miraculous. Few others have followed this same formula and even fewer have done so successfully. Needless to say, Bale's efforts have proven him to be one of the most dedicated and dynamic method actors around today.

For those of you looking to get your Christian Bale fix, you can find him in theaters now. He plays John Conner in Terminator Salvation, the latest installment in the Terminator franchise. I have not seen this movie yet but I am sure it is very good. And we all know why.

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