Question: Athena starred a British actor who is best known for his starring role in what 1954 historical epic?

British actor Christian Bale has starred in various films, as well as advertisements and a video game.  He made his acting debut in 1986, on the television film "".  The following year, he made his film debut starring alongside John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson in the war film "Empire of the Sun".  Bale's role of a young boy, interned in China by the Japanese, received praise from most film critics.  Two years later, Bale had a minor role in "Henry V", a drama film based on William Shakespeare's play "The Life of Henry the Fifth".  It has been considered one of the best Shakespeare film adaptations ever made.  In 1992, Bale starred as Jack Kelly in the Walt Disney musical drama "Newsies", which was a critical and commercial failure; however, it gained a cult following.  He received a role in the 1994 drama "Little Women", which garnered positive reviews.  Bale lent his voice for the Disney animated film "Pocahontas" in 1995, although it received a mixed reception and attained box office success.  He starred as British journalist Arthur Stuart in the Todd Haynes-directed drama "Velvet Goldmine" (1998).  Although critics were divided on the film, Bale's role was "eagerly anticipated".  Bale portrayed Demetrius in the critically praised 1999 film "A Midsummer Night's Dream", an adaptation of Shakespeare's play of the same name, directed by Michael Hoffman.  The same year, he portrayed Jesus of Nazareth in the television movie "Mary, Mother of Jesus". <SEP> David Newell was primarily known as an American character actor, whose acting career spanned from the very beginning of the sound film era through the middle of the 1950s.  He made his film debut in a featured role in "The Hole in the Wall", a 1929 film starring Edward G. Robinson and Claudette Colbert.  Early in his career he had many featured roles, in such films as: RKO's "The Runaway Bride" in 1929, starring Mary Astor; 1931's "Ten Cents a Dance", starring Barbara Stanwyck and directed by Lionel Barrymore; and "White Heat" in 1934.  He would occasionally receive a starring role, as in 1930's "Just Like Heaven", which co-starred Anita Louise.  However, by the mid-1930s he was being relegated to mostly smaller supporting roles.  Some of the more notable films he appeared in include: "A Star is Born" (1937), which stars Janet Gaynor and Fredric March; "Blondie" (1938); the Bette Davis vehicle, "Dark Victory" (1939); "Day-Time Wife" (1939), starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell; "It's a Wonderful World" (1939), with James Stewart and Claudette Colbert; "Rings on Her Fingers" (1942), starring Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney; the Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore film, "Up in Arms" (1944), which also stars Dana Andrews; 1947's "Killer McCoy" with Mickey Rooney, Brian Donlevy, and Ann Blyth; "Homecoming" (1948), starring Clark Gable, Lana Turner, and Anne Baxter; "That Wonderful Urge" (1949), starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney; "David and Bathsheba" (1951), starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward; and Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 blockbuster, "The Greatest Show on Earth".  During his 25-year acting career, he appeared in over 110 films.  His final appearance in film was in 1954's "The Eddie Cantor Story", in which he had a small supporting role. <SEP> Athena (1954) is a romantic musical comedy, starring Jane Powell, Edmund Purdom, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern, Steve Reeves, and Evelyn Varden, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. <SEP>  He worked first on stage in Britain, performing various works by Shakespeare, then later in America on Broadway, until making his way to Hollywood, and eventually spent the remainder of his life appearing in Italian cinema.  He is perhaps best known for his starring role in 1954's historical epic "The Egyptian". Edmund Anthony Cutlar Purdom (19 December 19241 January 2009) was a British actor.  His daughter Lilan Purdom became a journalist for French television channel TF1.