With an upcoming role as John Connor in the newest Terminator film , Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, one wonders if there is anything that Christian Bale can’t do. He’s been in so many movies as of late, it can be a bit difficult to pin him down. Is he an action star or a serious actor? Perhaps that’s the truly marvelous thing about Christian Bale. We don’t have to pick.

He’s proven himself both as a method actor who can carry a serious film and as a capable action star. Meticulous in his preparation and execution of roles, he underwent a much publicized weight loss for The Machinist, but when that film wrapped, his role as Batman in Batman Begins took him to the opposite end of the scale -- from skeletal to superhero. His preferences tend towards the unique or challenging roles, and the results speak for themselves. Bale is one of the hardest working actors in film today, never one to turn down an opportunity to show a different side of himself, whether as a morally staunch rancher in 3:10 to Yuma or a magician known for his red-handed sleight of hand in The Pretige.

Perhaps Bale’s finest performance to date was playing psychopathic killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Bale nailed the difficult tremor of Bateman’s neurosis, walking a fine line between utter chaos and the straight-laced everyday coma of greed, power, and sexuality. The last few years have been very good to Bale, and with such successes as I’m Not There , 3:10 to Yuma, The Prestige, and The New World filling the docket, it is easy to see that this is an actor who loves to work. With the latest installment of the popular Batman franchise looming on the summer horizon, fans can expect nothing less than perfection from Bale, who portrays millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne with a sympathy and false bravado that adds much needed nuance to a role that could so easily slip into caricature.

While other actors find themselves slipping into stereotypical present-day fodder, Bale finds new ways to challenge himself. Never afraid to stretch himself as an actor, Bale gives us what we want in a world littered with drug-riddled starlets and endless Hollywood scandal -- a serious, talented and hardworking actor who makes truly great films.

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