German director Werner Herzog has hailed Christian Bale one of the greatest actors of his time. The pair worked together on prisoner-of-war thriller Rescue Dawn, but the 63-year-old filmmaker insists he spotted Bale's prodigious talent long before they met on set.

Herzog says, "I find him one of the greatest talents of his generation. We made up our own minds long before he did Batman."

In the film, based on true events, Bale's character gets shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War and must hatch an escape plan when he is captured and tortured.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)