Like many actors, Christian Bale started his acting career acting in comercials, particularly the fabric softener Lenor and PacMan cereals.

When he was only 12 years old he acted as Alexei in the TV film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. In 1987 he played Harry in the film Heart of the Country but his big debut was in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, a film about the Japanese invasion of China.