LOS ANGELES—Although there have been several male child actors who have gone on to have lengthy careers as adults, the list of adult male movie stars who were carrying films before they hit their teens is very short. In fact, it’s arguable that it is a list of one.

Christian Bale was just 12 when he began principal photography on Steven Spielberg’s epic war film, Empire of the Sun, in which he played the lead role of an English child trying to survive the Japanese occupation of Shanghai.

More than two decades later, he has not only redefined the character of Batman, he has managed to avoid being stereotyped in the role by starring in other movies, including last year’s acclaimed western, 3:10 to Yuma and the upcoming Terminator Salvation.

In an L.A. hotel room, where he has come to promote his second Batman film, The Dark Knight, he says that although it may have looked easy, moving from being a child actor to a lengthy career in the business has had some rocky moments. Enough, in fact, that he says he would never advise a family member to take the same route.

“Many times I was unsure if this was what I wanted to do forever,” he says. “As a child, even the notion of forever was alien to me. But I did always like the opportunities acting afforded me even if I kind of lost enjoyment now and then with certain movies I was making.

"And that has been true of the most basic things. For instance, I got to stand on the lip of the Sears Tower in this film and I was also able to go and do research at FBI headquarters. People let me into places I would never have access to if I hadn’t become an actor.

"I recognize that I probably wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t started with Empire of the Sun, but it was a less than ideal situation. I do know I wouldn’t recommend anyone starting at a young age and doing this professionally. I would definitely try to convince anyone in my family and anyone near to me to not do something like this at such a young age.”

In The Dark Knight, the follow-up film to 2005’s Batman Begins, Bale’s character discovers that there is both good and bad news in the fight against crime in Gotham City. The good news is that the new district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is ready to stand up to criminals.

The bad news is that there is a master criminal in town. The Joker (Heath Ledger) takes no prisoners, even going so far as to kill off his own gang members when the heist is completed. He is also aware that he could lose the only woman he has ever loved, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), to Dent.

The movie, which opens on July 18, is expected to do better than its predecessor at the box office, even though it required a bigger investment. (Batman Begins was reported to have made $370 million worldwide in 2005 on a production investment of $150 million. The Dark Knight’s production costs are estimated to be about $200 million.)

Bale says that the film’s director, Christopher Nolan, assured him that there was no point in making a sequel if it wasn’t going to be an improvement.

“Chris told me before we even agreed that we would do it that he was not going to be treading water on this film. He said he would only make this movie if he felt that it would be better than the first one. He wanted a script [written by himself, his brother Jonathan Nolan, and David S. Goyer] that gave all the characters involved more to do and put less pressure on me than the first one. He wanted it to be less a correction of the first film than an evolution.

"We both knew as well that there wasn’t that much faith in his ideas when he spoke about what he planned to do prior to the first film because he hadn’t proven himself. So after he made that film, he didn’t have to describe his vision to people or convince anyone. They could see what he meant, so he was given the freedom to make the movie he wanted to make this time around.”

Bale’s physical freedom was also an issue. He had told Nolan, prior to making the sequel, that he needed to feel comfortable in the suit. Nolan followed through by requesting that it be more manoeuvrable. “The suit was heavier this time,” he says. “But I could move my head. It was much more comfortable and it didn’t squeeze me like a vise. I only had to act the rage and anger this time around. But I had felt that the bat suit should evolve like all the things that we were doing to make this movie appear more realistic. Everything seems more real to me, right down to the look of the city in the background.”

Bale takes little credit for the movie, despite the fact that he is at the centre of it. However, he admits that if Nolan had screwed up on his second shot at Batman, he would be the first person to be assailing his work.

“My feeling about a film like this is that, essentially, it comes down to the director. So even if you have an actor doing a wonderful job, it was the director who cast that actor in it. I give full credit to the director if the film works and blame to the director if it fails. I have three films in my contract but I can’t imagine doing it without Chris because he created this completely. I just hope that choice [of returning] will be his to make.”

He does give credit to a cast member who can’t take any on his own behalf. Heath Ledger died in January of an accidental drug overdose and Bale says that he made the movie better through a performance that was unique. He says that although he only had one big scene with Ledger, the day that it was shot was one of Bale’s better days on set.

“When we were filming this scene where I am in an interrogation room with him, I was kind of chuckling inside. I could recognize the satisfaction that he seemed to be getting in the role. It seemed similar to what I get from acting, so I felt comfortable working with him.

"I love the dynamic between the two [Batman and Joker] because in a way the Joker completes Batman in that he has a worthy opponent. He also challenges the Joker in a way that no one ever had. I found that Heath’s commitment to the character made it easy to work opposite him, and he certainly upped everyone’s game.”

Bale’s own game will have to be brought up another level again next year when he takes on another franchise with high expectations. He plays the role of freedom fighter John Connor in Terminator Salvation and says that he sees several similarities to his current film series.

“Again, it is not an original story, but there needs to be some reinvention. At the same time, you have to recognize the mythology that is there. But there is no point in making films like these if you aren’t committed to revitalizing them and reinventing them. They won’t be successful if you don’t.”

Read more : Dark Knight scoops up Maggie Gyllenhaal from indies.

Read our review of The Dark Knight.