Christian Bale Was Once the Only Boy in His Ballet Class

Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale has been a performer for nearly his entire life. But before the Batman Begins star was an actor, Bale was a dancer, training in ballet classes at the most prestigious ballet school in the UK.

Christian Bale was a ballet dancer as a child

In some ways, Christian Bale’s childhood activities mirror that of Billy Elliot, the popular character who overcomes being ridiculed for being a male ballet dancer.

Since Billy Elliot‘s release over 20 years ago, the film has been brought to the stage all over the world in the form of Billy Elliot: The Musical. British actor Annette McLaughlin played the role of dance instructor Mrs. Wilkinson in the UK touring production of the musical, and in 2016, the actor reflected on her time in dance classes as a child herself in an interview with Wales Online. As a seven-year-old girl training at the Royal Ballet School in London, she crossed paths with a young Christian Bale.

“Christian was the only boy in the class and all the girls were all in love with him. He was really cool. He played the drums really well and being the only boy in the class he had a lot of attention,” McLaughlin remembered.

Christian Bale became a child actor after being a ballet dancer

Bale was a popular figure in his ballet classes, but it wouldn’t be long before he would drop out of the Royal Ballet School in pursuit of a career as an actor.

“One term he never came back as he had auditioned for Stephen Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun,” McLaughlin recalled. “All the girls in the class were heartbroken, but he was on his way.”

“I have loads of text books from primary school that say I ‘heart’ Christian Bale,” she added jokingly. “It’s hilarious to look back now as he’s such a mega star.”

McLaughlin also mused about Bale’s ballet talents after he left the classroom, remarking that he tended to keep his ballet career largely under wraps.

“I often wonder whether Christian ever kept up his ballet exercises on the barre. But I doubt it,” she said. “He was never forward in telling people about his dance background.”

Other stars studied ballet as kids

Bale’s role in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film Empire of the Sun ended up launching Bale’s acting career. Still, he was able to use his dance skills in roles like 1992’s Disney film Newsies. Bale’s career only continued to grow after the turn of the century thanks to his starring role in the hit movie American Psycho as well as his portrayal of Batman in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. And more recently, he’s starred in blockbusters like Ford v Ferrari and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Bale isn’t the only Hollywood star to have gone through ballet training when they were young. Sarah Jessica Parker, Penélope Cruz, Jennifer Garner, Amy Adams, Zoe Saldaña, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Naomi Campbell have ballet dance experience.