'Batman' star Christian Bale to build 12 foster homes to prevent siblings from being separated

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Actor Christian Bale broke ground Wednesday on a passion project he's worked on for 16 years -- the building of 12 foster homes and a community center to prevent siblings from being split up in foster care.

The 7,000-square-foot community center will serve 12 Together California foster homes. The project is expected to be completed in April 2025 and will revolutionize foster care in California by enabling siblings to stay together.

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Bale -- known best for starring in American Psycho and Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy -- co-founded Together California and called the village “something new, totally transformative and completely needed."

“Imagine the absolute pain and the trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that," Bale said. That’s no way to treat kids. And so, we will be the hub for that. I hope that this village will be the first of many, and I hope that people, Californians and Angelenos, know to come join us in opening our eyes to what’s happening right under our noses. These are our children, and we must help our children.”

Bale, 50, credited his late father, David, for his interest in philanthropy and direct action.

“I grew up with a dad who was always very active and altruistic,” he told the Hollywood Reporter, “We would be headed to protests and shouting at Maggie Thatcher and stuff. As a kid, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I loved it, and I just admired the hell out of my dad in that way that he went out of his way to care for other people.”

“We were always having other people coming and living in our house who didn’t have homes, etc. That’s just the guy that he was," said Bale.

The actor said he first became inspired to help children in need after the birth of his daughter, Emmeline, in 2005.

“I found myself trying to imagine what it would be like if we weren’t around,” he said. “At the same time, I was doing all-night searches for what was going on in LA proper and where we could help," Bale said.

“I was stunned and mad to learn that we have more foster kids here than anywhere else in the country," Bale continued. " I was also kicking myself for not knowing that before so I thought, ‘Well, this is it. Let’s focus on this.’ My wife and I decided that we were going to do everything we could in our power to change that.”

On any given day, there are nearly 437,000 children in foster care in the United States. In California, there are over 60,000 children in the foster care system, more than any other place in the United States.

Bale initially planned to open a foster home within a year but quickly discovered that it would take much longer to bring his vision to life.

"I had the very unrealistic idea that within one year I’d have created a miniature Sound of Music with kids singing on hills in an endlessly joyful environment," Bale told Hollywood Reporter. "But I discovered no, it takes an awful long time and really well-motivated people. It’s complicated and tough to help kids. It should be a hell of a lot easier than it was but I didn’t flinch for one second.”

Despite a few setbacks, Bale and Together California are closer than ever to opening a dozen foster homes.

Its objective is to give Los Angeles County's most vulnerable children vital support. It will serve as a hub for youth academic, therapeutic, social, and recreational activities, providing enriching services to the children residing there as well as the surrounding community.

Additionally, this facility will serve as a communal safe space for the neighborhood, facilitating access to public resources and offering educational and financial training programs.