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English-born actor Christian Bale (pictured above, wearing cap), has played a wide range of characters, first catching the public eye as a 13-year-old boy in a Japanese internment camp in Steven Spielberg's World War II-based Empire of the Sun. The 36-year-old Bale has since demonstrated his abilities in diverse roles, including the leads in American Psycho, Batman Begins, Terminator Salvation and The Dark Knight.
But Bale's latest venture, as former boxer-turned-drug addict Dickie Eklund in The Fighter, may be Oscar-worthy. Bale stars as the older half-brother of professional boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (38-13-1, 27 knockouts) played by Mark Wahlberg (pictured above, at right) in the film, an inspirational tale based on a true story that was released Friday in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other selected areas, and which will be shown nationwide on Dec. 17.
Although Ward is best-known for his three-fight trilogy with the late Arturo Gatti, whom he defeated once before losing twice, The Fighter, is focused on Ward's life in the blue-collar streets of Lowell, Mass., from which he successfully rises to become a fringe world titlist even as he is one of nine adult children in a dysfunctional family run by their hard-scrabble mother.
Formerly known as "The Pride of Lowell," Eklund retired in 1985 with a modest welterweight (147 pounds) record of 19-10 with just four knockouts. The highlight of Eklund's career was a 10-round, route-going effort in July 1978 against Sugar Ray Leonard.
Down three times against Leonard, Eklund claims to have also floored the future multi-world champion, although historians widely dispute Eklund's assertion, saying that Leonard's fall was more of a slip. Bale spoke to FanHouse concerning his role as Eklund, whose quest to live vicariously through his younger brother while simultaneously trying to overcome his crack habit is central to the film's storyline.
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