Terminator Salvation star Christian Bale lost his temper while filming on set and instantly regretted his actions when his outburst started circulating online. This is not a rare case when actors lose their cool at work, but because it was heavily publicized, The Dark Knight star had to do something.
Bale was famously recorded yelling expletives at one of the film’s crew members, and while he was not able to keep his calm, he managed to take responsibility for this scandalous action afterward.
Christian Bale Got In Hot Water After Shouting At Crew Member
Christian Bale seemingly got mad at the movie’s director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, who walked into the set and checked the lights while the camera was rolling. Apparently, this was already the second time he did this.
The actor was furious and started shouting at the crew member. As per Daily Mail, Bale said:
“What the f**k are you doing? Are you a professional or not? You’re unbelievable. Number of times you’re strolling and f**king around in the background. I’ve never had a DP behave like this. You don’t f**king understand what it’s like working with actors, that’s what that is.”
Regretting his actions, Bale spoke to Los Angeles radio station KROQ and admitted to his misconduct (via The Guardian):
“I was out of order beyond belief. I make no excuses for it. There is nobody who has heard that tape who has been hit harder than me. The one thing that disturbs me so much is that I’ve heard a lot of people saying that I seem to think that I’m better than anybody else.”
Bale also defended himself and tried to justify his action by stating how much value he puts into his work:
“Nothing could be farther from the truth. I am a lucky man, I never forget that, and that is why I put so much into what I do, and why I care so much about it, and why sometimes that enthusiasm just goes awry.”
The actor’s meltdown on set earned a lot of backlash on social media. Hurlbut tried to apologize numerous times, but people could not hear it clearly over Bale’s shouting.
RELATED: “That was kind of disturbing”: Horrifying Batman Sears Tower Stunt Almost Crippled Christian Bale
Christian Bale Was Apologetic After Public Meltdown
The Prestige actor revealed that he settled the argument with Hurlbut on the same day and still commended the director for his work:
“When I say ‘I’m not coming back on this set unless he’s fired’, it’s hot air. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand this: I’ve seen a rough cut of the movie, and he has done a really wonderful, professional job on this.”
Furthermore, he lamented that his breakdown might affect people’s interest in the film:
“I know some people are thinking, ‘I’m not going to see this movie’ because they think I’m a prima donna. Everybody worked so hard on this movie. Please, don’t allow my incredibly embarrassing meltdown to overshadow this movie and to have all of those people’s hard work go to waste.”
The Machinist star confessed that he is not a difficult actor to work with, and he also expressed gratitude that he could still work without compromising his standards. Notably, Bale and Hurlbut never worked together again after the incident.
Terminator Salvation is available on Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV.
Sources: Daily Mail, The Guardian
