Despite obvious and understandable reservations about his career path, Bale would continue to pursue acting and find steady work off the back of Empire of the Sun. A small role in Kenneth Branaghs production of Henry V in 1989 was followed by an appearance in made-for-TV movie Treasure Island, in which he would rub shoulders with legendary actors Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee and Oliver Reed. He also provided early demonstrations of the level of commitment that would eventually become synonymous with his work, spending ten weeks training in dance and martial arts for his roles in Newsies and Swing Kids. However, it was his participation in Little Women that would have the biggest long-term impact. Bale shared the screen with Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst and Winona Ryder in the 1994 production and developed a relationship with Sibi Blazic, who was Ryders personal assistant at the time. Six years later, Bale would take the plunge and make Blazic his wife:
I absolutely didn't feel ready for it at all. I didn't think anything like that would happen to me for years. When I imagined my life, I always thought I'd be in my mid-30s before I felt capable of that. But I suddenly found that I'd met somebody and I said, Screw it. I'm not gonna sit here saying, Oh no, I'm not ready. I thought, I'll jump into it and we'll figure it out as we go along.
I watch movies and I watch sport. I also watch movies about sport, and if there were a sport about movies I'd watch that too. The internet was the closest thing I could find.
