Sibi (Urdu: سِبی) is a city of Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is located at 29°33'0N 67°52'60E at an altitude of 130 metres (429 feet)^[1] and is headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name.^[2]. According to the 2001 census of Pakistan the population of Sibi is 52,100. The hottest place within the country is 52.6 °C (126.7 °F).

History[link]

The history of the town goes back to 13th century. The town is now an important junction on the Sindh-Peshin railway, where the Harnai line and the Quetta loop line meet, near the entrance of the Bolan Pass, 88 m. southeast of Quetta. Its population in 1901 was 4551. The district, which was formed in 1903, has an area of 4152 m². had a population in 1901 of 74,555. The greater part became British territory by the treaty of Gandamak in 1879; the rest is administered under a perpetual lease from the Khan of Kalat. Political control is also exercised over the Marri-Bugti country, with an additional area of 7129 m².: pop. (1901) 38,919. Besides the town of Sibi, the district contains the sanatorium of Ziarat, the summer residence of the government and The Victoria Memorial Hall which was built in 1903. Sibi is a historical city of Balochistan. It is the hottest city of Balochistan. It is sometimes also known as Sivi purportedly named for a Hindu princess. As such, nine percent of Sibi has a Hindu population.^[3]

Transport[link]

Sibi is on the western edge of Pakistan and is well connected with the country by a wide network of roads, railways and airways.

Railways[link]

Sibi Railway Station is junction railway station. The railway track was lined in 1890s during the British era to link Sibi with rest of the country. The routes are Sibi from linked with Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Rohri, Sukkur, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Kot Adu, Gujrat, Jacobabad, Gujranwala, Khanewal, Nawabshah, Attock, Jhelum, and Nowshera.

Roads[link]

Sibi is well connected by roads to the rest of the country. Sibi is connecting with Quetta, Karachi, Jacobabad, Sukkur and Hyderabad route. Sibi is a historical city of Balochistan. Its actual name is SIVI (name of a Hindu Princess).

Notes[link]

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

See also[link]

• Sibi District
• Mehergarh
• Sevi
• Mir Chakar Khan Rind
• Bibi Nani

Coordinates: 29°33′N 67°53′E / 29.55°N 67.883°E / 29.55; 67.883

Mohamed Nasheed މުޙައްމަދު ނަޝީދު
4th President of the Maldives
In office 11 November 2008 – 7 February 2012
Vice President	Mohammed Waheed Hassan
Preceded by	Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Succeeded by	Mohammed Waheed Hassan
Personal details
Born	(1967-05-17) 17 May 1967 (age 45) Malé, Maldives
Political party	Maldivian Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Laila Ali Abdulla
Children	Meera Laila Nasheed Zaaya Laila Nasheed
Alma mater	Liverpool John Moores University
Religion	Islam

Mohamed Nasheed (Dhivehi: މުހައްމަދު ނަޝީދު) (born 17 May 1967) is a Maldivian politician and one of the founders of the Maldivian Democratic Party, who served as the fourth President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012. Sometimes called "the Mandela of the Maldives",^[1][2] he was imprisoned more than twenty times for his opposition to long-time President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He triggered the 2003 Maldives civil unrest by requesting an autopsy on murdered teenage prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem, and his own arrest sparked the 2005 Maldives civil unrest.

In the October 2008 presidential election, he defeated Gayoom in the second round, assuming office on 11 November 2008. On 7 February 2012, Mohamed Nasheed stepped down from his presidency under disputed circumstances, following weeks of protests by opposition which had then been joined by majority of military and police forces. The next day, Nasheed stated that these protesters had joined with "powerful networks" of Gayoom loyalists to force his resignation in a coup d'état,^[3] and that he was forced to resign "at gunpoint" by police and army officers.^[4] His successor, Mohammed Waheed Hassan, has denied these claims and stated that the transfer of power was voluntary and constitutional.

Early life[link]

Nasheed was born in Maldives to a middle-class family.^[1] He attended Majeediyya School in the Maldives, between 1971 and 1981. He continued his secondary school education overseas at the Overseas School of Colombo, from 1981 to 1982 until he completed his GCE Ordinary Level Certificate. In August 1982 he moved to the United Kingdom where he completed his Higher Secondary Education at the Dauntsey's School in Wiltshire.^[5] Straight after his A-Levels, Nasheed moved north to Liverpool where he spent the next three years reading for a Bachelor of Arts in Maritime Studies at Liverpool Polytechnic (later Liverpool John Moores University), graduating in 1989.^[6]

Imprisonment[link]

Nasheed was held in prison for an article in the political magazine Sangu, published in 1990, alleging the government of rigging the 1989 General election. He was named an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience in 1991.^[7] He has stated that he was tortured while in detention, including being chained to a chair outside for 12 days and forced to eat food containing crushed glass.^[8]

He was later alleged by the government to have withheld information about a bombing plot. On 8 April 1992, he was sentenced to three years in prison on that charge.^[9] He was released in June 1993, then re-arrested in 1994 and 1995. In 1996 he was sentenced to two years imprisonment for an article he had written about the 1993 and 1994 Maldivian elections, and was again designated a prisoner of conscience.^[7] In all, he was arrested more than twenty times during Gayoom's rule,^[8] missing the births of both of his daughters.^[1] During his time in jail, he spent significant amounts of time studying, producing three books on Maldivian history.^[8]

Parliament[link]

In 1999, he was elected as a Member of Parliament representing Malé. However, he was forced to leave office on a theft charge that the BBC and other international media sources described as politically motivated.^[8][10][11]

In September 2003, Nasheed requested that a doctor view the body of Hassan Evan Naseem, a 19-year-old prisoner who had died in Maafushi Jail while serving a term for drug possession. The subsequent investigation revealed that Naseem had been tortured to death. This revelation, and the violent suppression of the prison riot that followed, sparked the anti-government protests of the 2003 Maldives civil unrest, leading to the first State of Emergency in Maldivian history and a "turning point" in its history.^[8]

In November 2003, Nasheed left the Maldives and joined Mohamed Latheef to help establish the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), in self-exile, in Sri Lanka and the UK. He was recognised as a political refugee by the British government in 2004. After about 18 months, Nasheed returned to Malé on 30 April 2005.

After returning to the Maldives he began promoting MDP before it was officially recognised by the Government. With the decision to allow political parties in the Maldives on 2 June 2005 and the official recognition of the MDP's existence, Nasheed accelerated his support campaigns for the party. He made several trips to the Atolls and neighbouring countries on behalf of the party.

On 12 August 2005, Nasheed was arrested again when he was sitting in the center of the Republican Square, with supporters of MDP, to mark the second anniversary of the Black Friday. His arrest provoked civil unrest in Malé and some other Atolls. After his arrest, acting Government Spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef told reporters that Nasheed had been detained for "his own safety." However, on 22 August 2005, the state announced that Nasheed was to be charged with terrorism under the Terrorism Act.^[12][13]

Presidency[link]

2008 presidential election[link]

In the 2008 Presidential campaign, Nasheed ran for the post of President and along-side him stood the Gaumee Itthihaad's candidate Mohammed Waheed Hassan as the Vice Presidential Candidate on an MDP ticket; this was the first time the country had held a multiparty presidential election by popular vote. In the first round, Nasheed and Dr. Waheed placed second with 44,293 votes (24.91%), placing second behind President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the governing Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), who received 71,731 votes (40.34%).

In the Second Round of elections, President Nasheed's MDP, created a coalition with Dr. Hassan Saeed (Gaumee Party), Gasim Ibrahim (Jumhoory Party), Sheih Hussain Rasheed (Adhaalath Party, Islamic Party), Ibrahim Ismail (Social Democratic Party) and Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik (Gaumee Ithihaad).

In the second round, Nasheed and Dr. Waheed were backed by the unsuccessful first round candidates (Watan Edey Coalition) and won 54.25% of the vote against 45.75% for Gayoom.

Following the election, Nasheed and Dr. Waheed were sworn in as the President and Vice President of the Maldives on 11 November 2008^[14] in a special session of the People's Majlis at Dharubaaruge.^[8]

Cabinet[link]

President Mohamed Nasheed's first cabinet included 14 Ministers. The posts were handed to politicians from the coalition with respect to the contribution to the "Watan Edhey" Coalition. As per the coalition agreement, President Nasheed created the first ever Islamic Ministry in the Maldives, with a cabinet post representing it.

Within 4 months after his first cabinet was formed, President of Jumhoory Party, Qasim Ibrahim resigned as Home Minister.^[15] This was followed by the President of Gaumee Party, Hassan Saeed,^[16] Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, and Attorney General Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed. The next appointment for the Attorney General, Husnu Suood, also resigned, followed by Finance Minister Mohamed Inaz.

Later the remaining main party in the Coalition, Adhaalath Party (Islamic Party) cut ties with the ruling MDP,^[17] citing religious matters. By the end of the first year of his presidency, President Nasheed's cabinet contained only ministers from the ruling party.

Policies[link]

With regard to the threat posed to the very low-lying islands by changes in sea level caused by global warming, in March 2009, Nasheed pledged to set an example by making the Maldives carbon-neutral within a decade by moving to wind and solar power. He argued that the cost of the change would be no higher than what the Maldives already spends on energy.^[18] As part of a wider campaign by international environmental NGO 350.org's campaign publicising the threats of climate change and its effects on the Maldives, Nasheed presided over the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting on 17 October 2009, off the island of Girifushi with the meeting participants underwater in scuba diving gear.^[19][20] The following month, Nasheed founded the Climate Vulnerable Forum, an association of countries affected disproportionately by climate change.^[21]

June 2010 crisis[link]

On 29 June 2010, Nasheed's 13 cabinet ministers resigned en masse, protesting the behaviour of opposition MPs who they said were “hijacking” the powers of the executive and making it impossible for the cabinet Ministers to discharge their constitutional duties and deliver the government’s election manifesto. The ministers called on the President to investigate why certain MPs were blocking the government's work, citing allegations of corruption and bribery in parliament.

On 7 July, President Nasheed reappointed all thirteen Ministers of the Cabinet, at a ceremony held at the President’s Office in Malé. Speaking at a press conference held shortly after presenting the Ministers with their letters of appointment, President Nasheed said his government would “work towards fulfilling its pledges to the people.” The President noted that the government has investigated the reasons why cabinet members felt they had to resign and the police have taken appropriate action. The President reiterated that only a small number of MPs are implicated in alleged corruption. “The reputation of the People’s Majlis should not be tarnished because of corruption allegations against a few parliamentarians,” the President said.

After the re-installation of the cabinet on 7 July, the cabinet was sent to the parliament for endorsement.

On 22 November, the parliament voted and declared that only 5 out of the 12 appointees would be accepted. They also called for the rejected ministers to step down immediately.^[22][23] This resulted in heated arguments between ruling party MDP and opposing DRP, who holds majority seats in parliament. The parliament ruled that the rejected appointees would not be considered as ministers, and refused to allow Finance minister, Ali Hashim present the 2011 state budget for parliament approval.^[24] Members of MDP responded to this by declaring that neither parliament or supreme court had rights to dismiss ministers and threatened high members of the parliament.^[25]

On 10 December 2010, the Supreme Court of Maldives ruled that the ministers not endorsed by the parliament cannot remain in their posts, and requested their immediate resignation from office.^[23][26]

On 13 December 2010, President Nasheed appointed two new ministers and acting ministers for four more offices. He also reappointed the rejected Attorney General, Dr. Sawad.^[27]

Resignation[link]

Less than a year into the presidency, cabinet members representing other political parties in the coalition began to resign in protest of an alleged lack of respect for transparency and the constitution. The last major party to sever its ties to the ruling party was Adhaalath Party (Islamic Party).^[15] Another issue taken up by the opposition parties was that Nasheed's government, like Gayoom's, allowed spas and resort islands to be exempt from the laws that prohibited alcohol and pork products elsewhere in the largely Muslim nation. Protests became a frequent occurrence in the streets of the capital city of Malé after the president’s coalition slowly dissolved.^[28]

An opposition alliance (Madhanee Ithihaad) was formed on December 2011, including all the parties that supported the President in his 2008 presidential race. Those parties included Gaumee Party, Jumhoory Party, and Adhaalath Party. On 23 December, the capital city saw major opposition protests against Nasheed and his government.^[29] Former cabinet minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed was repeatedly summoned to the police station in connection with the protests, at one point being detained at Dhoonidhoo, a Maldivian prison island. Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed ordered his release, but according to the police his non-compliance with their on-going investigations^[30] against him led in turn to his being arrested by members of the Maldives National Defense Force.^[31]

Due to the arrest of the judge the opposition parties' protests gained momentum and demanded Judge Abdulla Mohamed's immediate release. During the detention of the judge, the HRCM was able to visit him in his place of detention, a military training base, and confirm his safety.^[32] Opposition leaders also called for an independent investigation into the constitutionality of the arrest, a call echoed by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives,^[33] the Judicial Services Commission,^[34] the Prosecutor General’s Office,^[35] the International Commission of Jurists,^[36] Amnesty International,^[1] and the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.^[37] Military and police rejected the orders by High Court to release the Abdulla Mohamed.^[35]

The opposition's protest in the Republic Square lasted for 22 days. On 6 February 2012, the Maldives Police Service declined to use force to control or disperse the protests and joined the protest.^[38] In early hours of 7 February 2012, President Mohamed Nasheed was seen inside the military headquarters.^[39] The Maldives National Defense Force subsequently had a standoff with police who had joined the protesters, in which the MDF fired rubber bullets into the crowd. (The President's office, however, denied these reports.)^[40][41]

Military forces increasingly joined the opposition, and Nasheed stepped down that day.^[41] His statement read: "I believe if I continue as the President of the Maldives, the people of the country would suffer more. I therefore have resigned as the President of Maldives. I wish the Maldives would have a consolidated democracy. I wish for justice to be established. My wish is for the progress and prosperity of the people. And I thank you all for your support and contributions to achieve success for the past three years." He also stated his hope that his resignation might avoid international pressure on the Maldives over the unrest.^[42] Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, who claims to have opposed Abdulla Mohamed's arrest, was then sworn in as the new president, and a warrant was issued for Nasheed's arrest.^[43]

Nasheed later wrote that he was forced to resign "at gunpoint", and that "powerful networks" of Gayoom loyalists had manipulated events to "strangle" Maldivian democracy.^[3] The coup interpretation was also backed by UK MP David Amess, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group to the Maldives, but contradicted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who asserted that Nasheed "had resigned".^[44] Nasheed's successor and opposition forces also stated that the transfer of power was voluntary.^[43] A later British Commonwealth meeting concluded that it could not "determine conclusively the constitutionality of the resignation of President Nasheed", but called for an international investigation.^[45]

On 8 February, the MDP convened an emergency executive meeting and called for its members to go into streets. President Mohamed Nasheed then attempted to lead the protesters to the Republic Square. Before his march reached the square, however, the Maldives Police Service dispersed the protest with batons and pepper spray. An Amnesty International spokesperson later condemned the police tactics as "brutal" and "outright human rights violations".^[46]

Post-presidency[link]

In the weeks following Nasheed's resignation, he requested that the British Commonwealth threaten the Maldives with expulsion unless new elections are held. The Commonwealth has supported Nasheed's call for early elections, calling on both Nasheed and Waheed to enter talks to arrange new polls before the year's end.^[45]

On 1 April, Mohamed Nasheed stated that he was unsure of the official charges against him in the Maldives: "One time they said it was terrorism, another time they said it was acting against the constitution, another time they said it was alcohol."^[1]

A documentary about Nasheed's efforts to halt climate change, The Island President, was filmed throughout 2009 and 2010. It was directed by Jon Shenk, produced by Actual Films, and features a soundtrack with songs by Radiohead. The film won the Cadillac People's Choice Documentary Award at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival^[47] and opened in New York City on 28 March 2012.^[48] The New York Times describes the film as "unabashedly pro-Nasheed" and "the biggest media event Mr. Nasheed could have hoped for" to publicize his cause.^[49] The film proved popular in the Maldives, with scalpers reportedly selling tickets at twice their value.^[49] The Island President received generally positive reviews from U.S. critics, holding a 97% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes^[50] and a score of 72 out of 100 at Metacritic.^[51]

On 2 April, Nasheed appeared on the U.S. comedy news show The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote The Island President and discuss the political climate in the Maldives.^[52]

Awards, honours and praise[link]

In May 2009, Nasheed was presented with Coral Cultivation Initiative Award by Huvafen Fushi Resort and Underwater Spa, Maldives in recognition of his active participation in cultivating coral in the resort’s nursery as well as for his efforts in creating greater awareness on the impact of climate change in the Maldives.^[53] One month later, the Anna Lindh Memorial Fund awarded Nasheed the 2009 Anna Lindh Award for the role he played in bringing democracy to the Maldives and in recognition of his efforts "to put people and their human rights at the heart of the debate on climate change".^[54]

President Nasheed during the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

In September 2009, at the global premiere of the "Age of Stupid", Nasheed was presented with a "Not Stupid" Award for his efforts to tackle climate change and for the Maldives' announcement to become the first carbon-neutral country in the world.^[55] In the same month, Time magazine named Nasheed No. 1 in the "Leaders & Visionaries" category within its annual list of "Heroes of the Environment".^[56]

On Earth Day 2010, Nasheed was awarded the United Nations' Champions of the Earth Award. He received it at a gala event in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in conjunction with the B4E Business for the Environment Global Summit. According to a press release by the United Nations Environment Programme, the award was in recognition of Nasheed's being "an articulate voice for the vulnerable and the poor facing the challenges of global warming and also a politician who is showcasing to the rest of the world how a transition to climate neutrality can be achieved and how all nations, no matter how big or how small, can contribute".^[57] That year, he was also named by Foreign Policy magazine to its list of top global thinkers.^[58]

In March 2011, following his official visit to the Republic of Mauritius, he was decorated by President Anerood Jugnauth and was awarded the highest distinct order of merit in the country, the Grand Commander of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean during the official lunch hosted by Jugnauth at the Château of Réduit.^[59]

In a 2011 interview with The Guardian, British Prime Minister David Cameron described Nasheed as 'my new best friend' and said that he, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and John Key would be the five world leaders Cameron would invite on his stag weekend.^[60]

Nasheed's alma mater, Liverpool John Moores University, awarded him an Honourary Fellowship "in recognition of his role in spear-heading the democracy movement in Maldives which subsequently led to his imprisonment, solitary confinement and torture".^[61]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• The Island President official site
• Presidend Nasheed's interview with OneClimate at COP15 in Copenhagen

v t e Heads of state of the Maldives since 1952 First Republic, 1952–1954 Mohamed Amin Didi Ibrahim Muhammad Didi Sultanate, 1954–1968 Muhammad Fareed Didi Second Republic, 1968– Ibrahim Nasir Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Mohamed Nasheed Mohammed Waheed Hassan

Sibi Malayil
Born	India
Occupation	director
Years active	1985 – present

Sibi Malayil is an Indian film director known for his work in Malayalam cinema, most popular for his melodramas of the 1980s and 1990s. Since the mid-1980s he has directed around forty films. Films such as Thaniyavarthanam (1987), Kireedam (1989), Dasharatham (1989), His Highness Abdullah (1990), Maalayogam (1990), Bharatham (1991), Sadayam (1992), Kamaladalam (1992), Akashadoothu (1993), and Chenkol (1993) defined the way Malayalam films were made, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many of his films have screenplays by A. K. Lohithadas.^[1] Malayil is also the chairman of the Film Employees' Federation of Kerala (FEFKA).^[2]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

National Film Awards:

• 1997 - Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration - Kanakkinavu
• 1994 - National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare - Aakasadoothu
• 1987 - National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues - Doore Doore Koodu Koottam

Kerala State Film Awards:

• 2003 - Best Director - Ente Veedu Appuvinteyum
• 2003 - Kerala State Film Award for Best film with popular appeal and aesthetic value - Ente Veedu Appuvinteyum
• 2000 - Kerala State Film Award for Best film with popular appeal and aesthetic value - Devadoothan
• 1996 - Best Director - Kanakkinavu
• 1996 - Second Best Film - Kanakkinavu
• 1991 - Second Best Film - Bharatham

See also[link]

• List of Malayalam films from 1981 to 1985
• List of Malayalam films from 1986 to 1990
• List of Malayalam films from 1991 to 1995
• List of Malayalam films from 1996 to 2000

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sibi Malayil at the Internet Movie Database
• 'Cinema of Malayalam' profile

This article about an Indian film director is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Christian Bale
Bale in June 2009
Born	Christian Charles Philip Bale (1974-01-30) 30 January 1974 (age 38) Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Sandra Blažić (2000–present)
Children	1
Parents	David Bale, Jenny (née James) Bale
Family	Gloria Steinem (Step-Mother)

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor.^[1] Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.

Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13, when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987). He played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.^[2] He is also notable for his role as serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (2000), and for portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and the upcoming finale The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

In 2010, Bale portrayed Dicky Eklund in the biopic The Fighter. He received critical acclaim for his role and won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

Early life[link]

Bale was born in Wales to parents of English descent. His South African–born father, David Bale, was an entrepreneur, commercial pilot and talent manager, and his mother, Jenny (née James), was a circus performer.^[3][4][5][6] He spent his childhood in England, Portugal, and the United States.

Bale's first foray into acting was a commercial for the fabric softener Lenor in 1982.^[7] 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, opposite Rowan Atkinson.^[8]

Career[link]

1986–1998[link]

A 14-year-old Bale in Stockholm, Sweden in February 1988 while promoting Empire of the Sun

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.

Bale's performance as Jim Graham in Empire of the Sun earned him widespread critical praise and the first ever "Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor" award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.^[9] The attention the press and his schoolmates lavished upon him after this took a toll on Bale, and he contemplated giving up acting until Kenneth Branagh approached him and persuaded him to appear in Henry V in 1989.^[9] In 1990, he played the role of Jim Hawkins opposite Charlton Heston (as Long John Silver) in Treasure Island, an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic book.

In 1992, Bale starred as Jack Kelly in the Disney musical Newsies, and followed it up in 1993 with another release, Swing Kids, a film about teenagers who secretly listened to forbidden jazz during the rise of Nazi Germany.^[10] Bale was recommended by actress Winona Ryder to star in Gillian Armstrong's 1994 film Little Women.^[9] Bale provided the voice for Thomas, a young compatriot of Captain John Smith, in Disney's Pocahontas (1995) and in 1997 played Arthur Stuart in Velvet Goldmine, Todd Haynes' tribute to glam rock.^[10] 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.^[10]

1999–2001[link]

In 1999, Bale played serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, director Mary Harron's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel. Bale was briefly dropped from the project in favour of Leonardo DiCaprio, but DiCaprio eventually dropped out to star in The Beach, and Bale was cast once again. 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.^[11] He went so far as to distance himself from the cast and crew 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,^[12] and "the most loathed film at Sundance,"^[13] but gave it a favourable review, writing that Harron "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."^[14]

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, which he felt could not be properly expressed by anyone else.^[15] In 2000, he again played a wealthy murderer, this time in John Singleton's Shaft.

Bale has played an assortment of diverse characters since 2001. His 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 (Penelope Cruz). Captain Corelli's Mandolin was Bale's second time working with John Hurt, after All the Little Animals.

2002–2004[link]

From 2002 to 2003, Bale starred in three feature films. Laurel Canyon (2002) was generally well received by critics.^[16] This film also marked the second time he worked with actress Kate Beckinsale, his costar in Prince of Jutland (1994). Critics generally focused on star Frances McDormand's performance over the rest of the cast, however.^[17]

Reign of Fire was Bale's first action vehicle and had, compared to all his previous work, an immense budget estimated at US$95,000,000.^[18] Bale entered into negotiations about starring in the film with reservations, but director Rob Bowman convinced him to take the lead role.^[19] Bale starred as Quinn Abercromby opposite Matthew McConaughey's Denton Van Zan. Bale and McConaughey trained for their respective roles by boxing and working out.^[19]

Equilibrium was Bale's third film of 2002, costing US$20 million to produce but earning just over US$5 million worldwide.^[20] In Equilibrium, Bale played John Preston, an elite law enforcer in a dystopian society. Equilibrium featured a fictional martial art called Gun Kata that combined gunfighting with hand-to-hand combat. According to moviebodycounts.com, the character of John Preston has the third most on-screen kills in a single movie ever with 118, exactly half of the movie's total of 236.^[21]

After a year's hiatus, 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 and for the lengths to which he went 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,^[22] which reduced his weight by 63 pounds (4 st 4 lb/27 kg) in a matter of months.^[23] By the end of filming Bale weighed only 121 pounds (8 st 9 lb/55 kg),^[22] a transformation he described as "very calming mentally"^[24] and which drew comparisons to Robert De Niro's alternate weight-gaining regimen for his role as Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film Raging Bull.^[25] Bale claimed that he had not worked for a period of time before he was cast in the film. "...I just hadn't found scripts that I'd really been interested in. So I was really dying for something to arrive. Then when this one did, I just didn't want to put it down. I finished it and, upon the kind of revelation that you get at the end, I immediately wanted to go back and re-visit it, to take a look at what clues I could have gotten throughout".^[26] The Machinist was a low-budget production, costing roughly US$5 million to produce, and was given only a limited US release. It was well received, with the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 75% of the critics' reviews tallied were positive.^[27]

Bale, an admirer of Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away,^[15] was then cast as the voice of the title character, Howl, in the English language dub of the Japanese director's fantasy anime adventure Howl's Moving Castle, an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones's children's novel. Its gross in the US was US$4,711,096, a fraction of its worldwide gross (US$235,184,110).^[28]

Batman: 2005–present[link]

Bale in 2005

It was reported that Bale had previously auditioned for the role of Robin in Batman Forever (1995) and later Batman and Robin (1997), but lost out to Chris O'Donnell. However, this rumour was later dispelled by Bale himself in a magazine interview in 2008.^[29] In 2004, after completing filming for The Machinist, Bale won the coveted role of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, a reboot of the Batman film series. Bale beat out Jake Gyllenhaal, the closest competition for the role.^[30]

Still fresh off The Machinist, it became necessary for Bale to bulk up to match Batman's muscular physique. He was given a deadline of six months to do this. Bale recalled it as far from a simple accomplishment: "...when it actually came to building muscle, I was useless. I couldn't do one push up the first day. All of the muscles were gone, so I had a real tough time rebuilding all of that."^[23] With the help of a personal trainer, Bale succeeded in meeting the deadline, gaining a total of 100 lb (45 kg) in six months. He went from about 130 lbs to 230 lbs.^[31] He then discovered that he had actually gained more weight than the director desired, and dropped his weight to 190 lbs by the time filming began.^[32]

Bale had initial concerns about playing Batman, as he felt more ridiculous than intimidating in the Batsuit. He dealt with this by depicting Batman as a savage beast.^[23] To attain a deeper understanding of the character, Bale read various Batman comic books. He explained his interpretation of the young boy: "Batman is his hidden, demonic rage-filled side. The creature Batman creates is an absolutely sincere creature and one that he has to control but does so in a very haphazard way. He's capable of enacting violence — and to kill — so he's constantly having to rein himself in." For Bale, the most gruelling part about playing Batman was the suit. "You stick it on, you get hot, you sweat and you get a headache in the mask," he said. "But I'm not going to bitch about it because I get to play Batman."^[33] When promoting the film in interviews and public events, Bale retained an American accent to avoid confusion.^[34]

Batman Begins was released in the U.S. on 15 June 2005 and was a U.S. and international triumph for Warner Bros., costing approximately US$135 million to produce and taking in over US$370 million in returns worldwide.^[35] Bale earned the Best Hero award at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards for his performance.^[36]

Bale reprised his role as Batman in the Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight. He trained in the Keysi Fighting Method, and performed many of his own stunts.^[37] The Dark Knight was released in the U.S. on 18 July 2008 and stormed through the box office, with a record-breaking $158.4 million in the U.S. in its first weekend.^[38] 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 U.S. box office records set by the film.^[39] The film went on to gross over $1 billion at the box office worldwide, making it the fourth-highest grossing movie worldwide of all time, before adjusting for inflation.^[40]

Bale will reprise his role in The Dark Knight Rises which will be released on 20 July 2012,^[41] making Bale the actor who has played Batman the most times in feature film. Bale has given the same opinion as Nolan that, if the latter was forced to bring Robin into the films, he would never again play Batman; even though one of his favourite Batman stories, Batman: Dark Victory, focuses on Robin's origin.^[42]

2006–2009[link]

Bale in 2008

After Batman Begins, Bale returned to appearing in independent films. He was cast as one of the two leads in the South Central David Ayer-helmed crime drama Harsh Times, co-starring Freddy Rodriguez and Eva Longoria. Bale played Jim Luther Davis, a grim 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.^[43]

Terrence Malick directed The New World, a period piece inspired by the stories of Pocahontas, and Bale was cast as John Rolfe. He shared the screen with Colin Farrell and Q'Orianka Kilcher, who played John Smith and Pocahontas. The majority of screen time was devoted to Farrell and Kilcher; Bale was a secondary character, and only appeared during the last third of the film. The film was a failure at the U.S. box office and its worldwide total (US$29,506,437) fell short of turning a profit (the production budget was placed at US$30 million).^[44]

In 2006, Bale took on four projects. Rescue Dawn, by German filmmaker Werner Herzog, had him playing U.S. 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."^[45]

In The Prestige, an adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel about a rivalry between two Victorian stage magicians, Bale was reunited with Batman Begins' Michael Caine and director Christopher Nolan. The cast of The Prestige also included Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, and David Bowie. I'm Not There, a film in which Bale again worked alongside Todd Haynes and Heath Ledger (who would go on to play The Joker in The Dark Knight), is an artistic reflection of the life of Bob Dylan. He starred opposite Russell Crowe in a commercially and critically successful Western film, 3:10 to Yuma.

Bale was originally cast to play George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's film W., but dropped out due to the prosthetics involved.^[47] Bale played John Connor in Terminator Salvation^[48] and FBI agent Melvin Purvis in Michael Mann's Public Enemies.^[49]

[edit] Terminator Salvation incident

In July 2008, Bale flew into an angry tirade on the sets of Terminator Salvation, while filming in New Mexico.^[50] In February 2009, the audio recording of the incident was released.^[51][52] 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.^[50][53][54] The recording is of a highly agitated Bale directing profanities at Hurlbut, threatening and belittling him, and finally threatening to quit the film if Hurlbut repeated his offence without being fired for it.^[53] It was reported that Warner film executives sent the tape to the insurer of the film in case Bale decided to quit the movie.^[55] In an interview with E! Online, assistant director and producer of Terminator Salvation, Bruce Franklin, said it was an isolated incident. "If you are working in a very intense scene and someone takes you out of your groove ... It was the most emotional scene in the movie ... [A]nd for him to get stopped in the middle of it. He is very intensely involved in his character. He didn't walk around like that all day long. It was just a moment and it passed," Franklin said.^[56]

Actors Whoopi Goldberg and Terry Crews,^[57][58] directors Darren Aronofsky^[59] and Ron Howard,^[60] as well as Ain't It Cool News website creator Harry Knowles^[61] have also publicly defended Bale's actions, some of them citing the practice that crew members are to remain still while the camera is rolling. The incident also inspired experimental band The Mae Shi to write the song, "R U Professional", which features samples from the recording;^[62] 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.^[63] The incident was re-enacted on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, with Inside the Actor's Studio host James Lipton giving performances of both Bale and the crewmember.^[64] An episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy also mixed in the voice of Peter Griffin interacting with Bale and reacting to Bale's comments as if they were directed at him to comedic effect.

After remaining silent for most of the week, Bale gave a public apology on 6 February 2009, to a Los Angeles radio station, KROQ. He stated that the outburst was "inexcusable" and that it was motivated by the day's shooting intensity.^[65] Bale said he "acted like a punk", and that he and Hurlbut talked after the incident and "resolved this completely".^[66] Bale acknowledged that the two worked together for several hours after the incident, and "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".^[66]

2010–present[link]

Bale starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in the David O. Russell-directed 2010 drama The Fighter, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and thirty other awards in 2011.^[67] Near the end of his acceptance speech during the televised Golden Globes awards ceremony, Bale complimented Robert DeNiro by saying he was "the shit". The comment was censored by NBC.^[68]

Writer/director Joe Carnahan confirmed in November 2007 that Bale is also involved in the upcoming movie Killing Pablo in which he is to play Major Steve Jacoby.^[69] According to a Nuts magazine interview, Bale stated that he will be in the running to play the role of Solid Snake in a film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid.^[70] Niels Arden Oplev, director of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, is to have Bale as lead in his current project The Last Photograph, which Oplev hopes to start filming early 2011.^[71] In December 2010, it was announced that Christian Bale would be starring in the historical drama war film The Flowers of War, directed by Zhang Yimou.^[72]

While filming The Flowers of War in December 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 recognize him.^[73] Bale later stated that he had wanted "to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is".^[74][75] Video footage also showed Bale and the CNN crew having stones thrown at them, and a minivan then chased their car for more than 40 minutes.^[73]

Bale is set to appear in two Terrence Malick directed films to be shot in 2012, Lawless and Knight of Cups.^[76][77]

In early 2012, it was confirmed that Bale was portraying the character Russell Baze in Scott Cooper’s upcoming thriller Out of the Furnace.^[78][79][77]

Personal life[link]

On 29 January 2000, Bale married Sandra "Sibi" Blažić (born 1970), a former model, make-up artist and personal assistant to Winona Ryder; the couple have a daughter, Emmeline,^[80] who was born on 27 March 2005 in Santa Monica, California.^[81][82] Since 1992, Bale has resided in Los Angeles.^[83]

Like his late father, Christian Bale actively supports environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.^[7] Feminist activist Gloria Steinem became Christian Bale's stepmother on 3 September 2000;^[84] it was her first marriage (at the age of 66), and the couple were together until David's death.^[5]

Film and television credits[link]

Awards and nominations[link]