Earnest Quotes About Parenthood From Christian Bale

Christian Bale is no stranger to the ups and downs of raising kids. 

The actor and his wife, Sibi Blai, have a daughter, Emmeline, and son, Joseph. Since becoming a dad in 2005, he’s shared his thoughts on work-life balance, children’s movies, parenting priorities and more. 

In honor of his birthday, here are 10 quotes about parenthood from Bale.

On The Power Of Parenthood

“There’s a very hard line you find in yourself when you become a parent, an absolute belief that cannot be questioned. It’s something that you will kill and die for in a way that you never experienced before . I’ve always enjoyed the gray in life. This is an area of total black and white. This is something that is unquestionable.” 

On His Hopes For His Family

“When it comes to being a father and my family, I’m absolutely predictable. Through the incredible position I’ve found myself in , I hope that with my daughter there will be a choice of stability or constant adventure.” 

On How Fatherhood Affects His Work

“I’m a court jester. My wife and daughter come with me on location. It’s the most ideal mix. These wonderful distractions actually make me better at what I do.”

On Prioritizing His Kids

“I’m not going to miss her growing up for anything, not even for ‘Batman’ ... I’m certainly not going to be one of those fathers who picks up a photo of his daughter and has regrets about not being around.”

On His Own Father

“My dad was a role model for me. He was a fascinating man . There was intrigue and entertainment growing up with him. He gave me an edict that I still pursue: ‘Life should never be boring.’” 

On Teaching His Daughter To Drive

“I took my daughter to Willow Springs to the go-kart track to start to learn how to do it because I want her to be a better driver than any idiot guys who want to impress her by driving too fast.”

On Children’s Movies

“The last few years of my life have been spent just watching animation for my daughter and getting a kick out of that. I love anything that she likes. If she’s getting a kick out of it, I love it . I find myself tearing up at the most ridiculous things now, sitting next to my daughter while she’s watching a movie. Me and my wife look across at each other like, ‘Oh my God! Are we really doing this? Yes we are!’”

On Stunts

“I’d like my daughter to see me do these things , as I saw my father do some crazy things and I learned to appreciate it.”

On Life With His Daughter

“She just does her own thing . She just makes up her own stuff and performs for us ... Yeah, it’s a whole different party circuit that you find yourself in. I love the bouncy-castle party circuit right now.”

On Keeping His Personal Life Private

“I’ve got incredible pride for my family. I’ve absolutely fallen into that cliché of a dad who could just happily talk about my daughter endlessly. But it’s not what I’m about in terms of being an actor. I don’t want people to know about that.”