Despite having all the necessary tools to become a star – looks, talent, presence – actor Christian Bale lacked one necessary ingredient at the start of his career: tolerance for being in the spotlight. After achieving instant celebrity after being tapped by Steven Spielberg to star in his epic period film, “Empire of the Sun” (1987), Bale suddenly discovered that he hated dealing with publicity. Instead of faking his way through interviews and junkets, he mentally bailed out, sometimes sitting through an entire session without answering, and occasionally flat out refusing to participate. But as he got older, he realized that the publicity aspect of acting was vital to his success, so he grew more and more comfortable with every new career landmark – “Little Women” (1994), “American Psycho” (2000) and “Batman Begins” (2005), chief among them.

The darkly handsome Billy Crudup (pronounced CREWD-up) quickly established himself as a rising star soon after graduating with an MFA from New York University in 1994. The Long Island native made his Broadway debut as the Byronic tutor in Tom Stoppard's acclaimed "Arcadia" in 1995 and returned to the New York stage the following year to star opposite Mary-Louise Parker in a revival of William Inge's "Bus Stop". For the former, the intense actor earned numerous accolades including the Theatre World and Clarence Derwent awards for most promising newcomer.