text: (CNN) -- He armors himself, keeps other people guessing and likes to wear a mask. 
  
  Christian Bale is known as a hard worker who immerses himself in his characters. 
  
  Batman? Try Christian Bale. 
  
  Though in his case the armor and mask are metaphorical, the 34-year-old "Dark Knight" star likes to keep his personal life as shadowy as a superhero's back story. He's been known to keep a low profile -- "You will never see me at a party," he told the Times of London -- and delights in concocting stories about his life. 
  
  "I make up [things]," he told Details magazine earlier this year. "Absolutely. I'm an actor -- I'm not a politician. I always kick myself when I talk too much about family, or personal things. I'll enjoy chatting now and then later I'll regret it." 
  
  But with the explosive impact of "The Dark Knight" -- the film has set box office records in the 10 days since its release, becoming the fastest film to reach the $300 million mark in history -- and the forthcoming release of the fourth "Terminator," which will star Bale, he may find his privacy limited. ("The Dark Knight" is a Warner Bros. film. The studio, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.) 
  
  "Can he stand the glare of the spotlight?" a rival studio executive asked Entertainment Weekly. "Being put in major roles and major films?" 
  
  Already there are signs that Bale has made the jump from actor to movie star. Last week, news of an alleged hotel-room tussle between the actor, his mother and his sister made headlines around the world. Bale, who has denied the allegations, described the incident as "a deeply personal matter" and asked the media to "respect my privacy in the matter" at a press conference. Watch the latest on the incident » 