Christian Bale

Another actor who made the difficult jump from child actor to adult, Christian Bale's performances have been acclaimed every step of the way. It helps to have Steven Spielberg put you in the lead role, of course, and Bale was singled out as the anchor of Empire of the Sun. He continued to work as a young adult, in the musicals Newsies and Swing Kids as well as dramas Little Women and The Portrait of a Lady. He truly came of age in an adult role in Velvet Goldmine, and had what could have been a career role in American Psycho. Bale lost a ton of weight for The Machinist, and put it back on as muscle for Batman Begins. But his best performance yet might be as the struggling rancher in 3:10 to Yuma even as he fights his remarkable good looks.