Christian Bale has transformed himself into dozens of characters over the years: a serial killer, a boy-next-door, a superhero, and most recently, a US Vice President.
But, have you ever wondered what the man behind the mask is really like?
Thousands of fans were left shaken on Sunday night when Bale stepped up to the stage to accept a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for his role as Dick Cheney in Vice, a moment that called attention to his real voice away from the acting world.
While many of his followers are used to his drawling American speech patterns or the distinctively low vocal register he used to play Batman, truth be told, Bale is from the UK - something that certainly showed when he took to the stage, catching many viewers off-guard.
Although he was born in Haverfordwest, Wales, the 44-year-old spent a lot of his youth in Surrey and Dorset, England, and has previously claimed that he counts himself as English, stating in one interview: "I was born in Wales but I'm not Welsh – I'm English."
Shocked social media users took to Twitter during the performance to express their amazement at this "revelation", with several claiming they had no idea the American Psycho star was British.
"Christian Bale’s Batman voice is permanently stuck in my brain... Had no idea he was British. Totally threw me for a loop," wrote Twitter user @asgxdangel. She was joined by @ihatejoelkim who confessed she thought the actor was doing the accent as a joke, stating: "I thought Christian Bale was doing a british accent to be funny and boy was it making me mad!!"
Another user going by the name of @hellolanemoore made an amusing comparison, writing "I constantly forget that Christian Bale’s real accent sounds like a cartoon chimney sweep", while @HESherman was about the only person out there who knew beforehand, saying: "Apparently I’m the only person on the internet who already knew Christian Bale is British and saw EMPIRE OF THE SUN in theatres."
So, let it be known everyone: Christian Bale has an English accent.
Or does he...?
Twitter user @dazedbyrach was on to a conspiracy theory when she insisted that no one really knows what Bale's true voice sounds like because he changes it so often.
"Christian Bale is Welsh and one of my favorite long standing jokes is that his accent changes in every public appearance so no one truly knows what his voice sounds like," she wrote. "Go compare an interview from Newsies to his speech tonight, it’s not the same accent in the slightest."
Could it be true? Is the actor fooling us all? Decide for yourself by looking through these old interviews.
You can't deny it: Christian Bale's voice changes a lot - but, hey, give the man a break: he's an acting chameleon!