Not content to sit on his laurels and soak up his recent acclaim, Bale quickly signed up to help resuscitate another one of Hollywood flat-lining genres in the form of James Mangold's fantastic western remake, ‘3:10 to Yuma’.

The film again saw Bale going at it head-to-head with another one of Hollywood’s A-listers, (this time it was Russell Crowe) allowing the crusading actor to deliver a strong yet woundingly paternal performance that helped underscore a strong revisionist take on an old favourite.