Publications
Partners
Cape Town – So Batman has South African roots? Who would have thought?!
In a candid interview with Channel24, South Africa’s largest entertainment news website, Hollywood star Christian Bale revealed more about his South African family and his connection with the country.
During the interview about his role in the new film, Vice, the star mentions that his father was born in Cape Town.
"Yeah, I know Cape Town well. My dad was born in Cape Town…and my grandfather was also down there, I only met him briefly towards the end of his life. I actually came down to Cape Town for that purpose of meeting him," the 44-year-old actor told Channel24 editor, Herman Eloff.
He added: "Then both him and I ended up in hospital together. I ended up having to get quite serious surgery whilst I was down there, but you know you’ve got the best surgeons in the world. So, I was down there for a few months in hospital, first in Durban and then down in Cape Town as well."
According to Christian he had to do a lot of rehab afterwards and couldn’t fly so, he spent quite a bit of time in the country visiting Stellenbosch, the Garden Route, and even "Joburg".
Christian’s half-sister was also born and grew up in South Africa.
He added: "My dad has unfortunately passed but I’ve always wanted to go back and visit his old haunts…It’s beautiful there."
Christian’s father, David Bale – who at age 62 died of lymphoma in 2003 - was a South African born entrepreneur and an environmentalist who in his later years married social political activist Gloria Steinem.
Vice tells the story of Dick Cheney who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today. The film opens in South African cinemas on Friday, 1 February.
