From American Psycho to American Hustle, here's our pick of the actor's greatest performances to date. But what others deserve to be on the list?

From angelic soprano in Empire of the Sun, to gravelly-voiced tyrant during the making of the worst Terminator film, Christian Bale has come a long way. Here's an entirely subjective list of his best performances to date. Agree? Disagree? Let us know what your top Bale moment is in the comment thread below.

Aged just 13 when he appeared in Spielberg's masterful adaptation of JG Ballard's memoir, Bale was utterly convincing in his transition from spoilt, cloistered expat to jaded PoW-camp survivor.

Todd Haynes love letter to 70s London's glam rock scene was a flawed-but-interesting mess – but Bale was decent as glam fan-turned journalist Arthur Stuart, on the trail of his former hero, the Bowie-esque Brian Slade.

A young Welsh-born actor still best known for playing a choirboy was perhaps not the most obvious choice to play Patrick Bateman, the titular mass murderer from Brett Easton Ellis's notorious 80s satire – and yet he made the role his own. WARNING: This adult-themed clip features scenes of violence you might find distressing.

Forget De Niro piling on weight for Raging Bull – Bale's startling weight loss for this 2004 psychological thriller took method acting-committment to a new level.

He's done the gravelly-voice, terminally serious thing in Terminator Salvation – but he does it to much better effect in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, of which The Dark Knight is by far the best installment.