In 1987, a very special children’s film from the Soviet Era, “Mio, My Mio”, was released in cinemas. It was special because it was based on the children’s book of the same name by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The project was a Soviet-Swedish-Norwegian collaboration led by Russian director Vladimir Grammatikov. The film also paved the way for one of Hollywood’s best-known actors to enter show business. He played the leading role in his next film, a Steven Spielberg classic.
An Actor Like No Other
If you haven’t recognized him yet, The Bat of Gotham, American Psycho, and John Connor can be seen to the right of Mio in the picture. Each of the above characters was played by actor Christian Bale. He also appeared in several films before “Mio, my Mio”, including a commercial for Pac-Man and the TV movie “Anastasia”. However, the then 13-year-old Bale only made his leap onto the big screen with the role of Mio’s friend Jum-Jum.
In Astrid Lindgren’s classic, the orphan Bosse (played by Nicholas Pickard) travels to a fairytale land. Upon his arrival, he was surprised to discover that he was, in fact, Mio, the son of the king there. Together with his new friend Jum-Jum, he set out to free the land from the evil knight Kato, who has a heart of stone. And this is where the next big surprise lurks. Because Kato was not played by an unknown, but rather, it was quite the opposite. Underneath the make-up is none other than the acclaimed British actor Christopher Lee. The then 65-year-old was known for his interpretations of “Dracula”, “Count Dooku” (Star Wars), and “Saruman” (The Lord of the Rings), among others.
Unfortunately, “Mio, my Mio” is currently unavailable for streaming.
Steven Spielberg Discovers Christian Bale
Christian Bale’s final breakthrough arrived just a few months later, when “The Empire of the Sun”, by master director Steven Spielberg, hit the big screen. Here, Bale played Jim Graham and thus was thrust into the leading role. He was in the esteemed company of actors such as John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, and Ben Stiller.
Today, in addition to his iconic roles, Christian Bale is primarily known for his physical transformations. Sometimes he plays the muscular Batman; sometimes a severely emaciated machinist (in “The Machinist”). And then, suddenly, a clearly overweight vice president (in “Vice – The Second Man”). In his last movie, only his voice could be heard. We’re talking about the latest Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece, “The Boy and the Heron”. And in March 2026, he will slip into a new role again – that of Frankenstein’s monster in the horror musical “The Bride! – Long live the bride”.
