Christian Bale may be the 6ft 2in hunk who has won millions of fans around the world as Hollywood's latest Batman.

But the British-born actor was so badly bullied as a kid he dreaded going to school.

He said: "I took a beating from several boys for years. They put me through hell, punching and kicking me all the time."

Yet the misery of those teenage years at a school in Bournemouth also gave him a steely determination to battle his way to the top in Tinseltown.

And he is the first to admit it served him well as he took on heart-throb Leonardo diCaprio to land the starring role in the 2000 blockbuster American Psycho which made his career.

Christian, 34, recalled: "It was a wake-up call for me.

"I had to make a decision either to accept I wasn't going to get the part because Leo was a much bigger star or do battle.

"I kept saying I was going to play the lead and people wondered if I was losing my mind.

"It reached the point where the film studio said about me, 'Don't mention his name again.' "But when Leo dropped out, the film company said, 'Let's call that crazy guy who keeps telling everyone he can play the lead.' "I even warned other actors off - including Ewan McGregor.

" I was not going to be bullied out of the part - I was going to stand up for myself and fight.

"So when I look back, problems in childhood can make you into the man you become."

At first glance, Bale's career looks like a dream with The Dark Knight - his second outing as Batman - due to hit the big screen next Friday.

He made his debut when he was just 13 alongside John Malkovich in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed Empire Of The Sun.

He hit superstardomwhen his stunning turn as a serial-killer in American Psycho led tohimbeing cast as the caped crusader in Batman Begins.

And he now lives a millionaire life in Los Angeles with his gorgeous wife Sibi, 38, and daughter Emmaline, three.

But his early movie success with Spielberg also sparked the dark years of bullying.

In a bid to give hope to kids going through the same nightmare, he said: "I know how they feel. You begin to wonder what you can change about yourself and your life to make them stop.

"You don't know who to talk to and what to do about it."

Remembering his own misery, Christian went on: "Who the hell knows why it happened.

"People might say the bullies are jealous but I can't explain it.

"Years later in America I said I had made a movie at 13 and they said, 'Oh, you must have been the most popular kid at school.' But I used to think, 'Man, I wish I had grown up in the United States if that's the case'."

Christian - who moved to America when he was 16 - adds: "If you can face the bullying at school and come through it stronger, that is a lesson for life.

"I have not allowed myself to be bullied since.

"Acting's highly competitive and you have to stand up for yourself.

There's no point rolling over and accepting everything - you have to believe in your ability."

Christian reckons he owes a lot to his parents and to Sibi, who he married eight years ago.

He says: "I was fortunate to have a great family who supported me. But I'd been living a rootless life until I met Sibi. She has fire in her soul, which I like.

"She was a model for a short while - but despised it.

"She had also produced a couple of short movies and I found out she acted, too.

"But she doesn't like to talk about it - she kind of hates the whole profession.

"And that's a good balance for someone like me who is never too sure of whether I'm happy being in the public eye.

"She's good at the things I am bad at - such as business - and has such a great attitude to life.

"She understands howI like to approach acting and my private life. She's like my secret weapon."

Bosnian-born Sibi has also inspired him to get serious about his job, which he freely admits he used to be too laid-back about.

He said: "I have made about seven or eight films in the past three years.

"I have been working hard at every audition to get these great jobs to set us up in Los Angeles.

"But I'm not work-obsessed and the time I spend with my wife and Emmaline is the most important.

"I am not going to miss my daughter growing up for Batman - or anything else.

"I am certainly not going to be one of those fathers who picks up a photograph of his daughter and has regrets about not being around."

And Bale is happy to carry on being Britain's most mysterious star with his determination to shun the limelight.

He says: "I have preferred to let my films do the talking and keep out of the gossip columns.

"Youwill never see me at a party, I'm not bothered by the paparazzi and I can walk around unrecognised. I'm a very lucky guy."

It's in sharp contrast to his Dark Knight co-star Heath Ledger - arch-villain The Joker - who died aged 28 in January after an accidental drug overdose.

But Christian says: "Heath was a nice guy and out of his world as an actor.

"I was never disapproving of his lifestyle and I don't think it is up to one person to pass judgment on another in that way.

"Grief is a private thing and I don't wish to discuss it in public.

"But Heath's performance in this film is so good he could be up for an Oscar."

Christian's own performance in The Dark Knight - which also co-stars Sir Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman - is earning rave reviews too.

But he says modestly: "People who see this film will be happy everyone did their best to create a great night out at the cinema.

You can't ask more than that."

features@people.co.uk

'Onward, CHRISTIAN: From left, as Batman, with his wife Sibi, his debut as a 13-year-old with John Malkovich and with 'Joker' Heath Ledger in new movie'

'They gave me hell, punching and kicking me all the time.

I still can't explain why'