Born in Wales on January 30, 1974 to a commercial pilot father, David Charles Howard Bale and a mother, Jennifer “Jenny” James, who worked as circus clown and dancer, Christian had a bohemian introduction to the performance world. Throughout Bale’s childhood, the family traveled extensively to places like England, Portugal and the United States. He started his career as a child artist; his big sister was also a performer. Even his granddad functioned as a stunt duplicate for John Wayne on the 1962 movie Hatari.