Jack Kelly, also known as Cowboy for his dream of moving to Santa Fe and his Western style clothing, is apparently the best Newsie in Kloppman's Lodging House. He takes David Jacobs under his wing to teach him how to sell the papes, in order to use his younger brother, Les, to front for him. However, it is during the strike that he organizes that his downfall might occur, for the truth is, he's an escaped prisoner from the House of Refuge, and his real name is Francis Sullivan. For a short time, his desire to protect his friend David and his need to go to Santa Fe outweight what he knows is right, and he joins the opposing forces as a scab. But his friendship with David and his family, and all the other newsies who have become his family, convince him not only to stay and finish his fight, but to stay in New York City.

Christian Bale is native of Wales, not New York or Santa Fe. His professional career began when he was 10 as an American kid in a production of "The Nerd." This led to a role in a BBC miniseries: "Heart of the Country" and "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna." He's been spotted in such films as "Swing Kids", "Empire of the Sun" (1987) and a lot of new things in the next year