With crew members working nonstop to create extravagant productions, movie sets can sometimes be chaotic environments. This could occasionally be challenging for actors as well. For example, Christian Bale—who made his breakthrough in Empire of the Sun at the age of 13—experienced intense backlash after a recording of him losing it on the Terminator Salvation set went viral.
But in the middle of the barrage of criticism, the legendary actress Sharon Stone proved to be an unexpected savior. The 65-year-old Casino actress appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert a few years ago to promote her book, The Beauty of Living Twice. She defended the Batman star and expressed her belief that many people are unaware of the difficulties that actors face in carrying out their duties on film sets.
Sharon Stone Backed Christian Bale’s Infamous Terminator Salvation Outburst
Christian Bale has faced criticism in the past for his actions on the $371.4 million Terminator Salvation set, but Sharon Stone has stood up for him. When the actress was asked if she would like to apologize for any outbursts she may have had on set during her visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she used the opportunity to stand up for Bale.
Stone, 65, clarified:
“Christian Bale, who completely transforms himself into someone else, whether he’s playing [Dick Cheney] [Vice] or whether he’s playing an anorexic [The Machinist] or whether he’s playing an OCD, you know, stockbroker [The Big Short], he becomes a different person.”
In 2009, a video surfaced online featuring Bale yelling at a cinematographer who had entered the Terminator Salvation set to check a light during a scene. The actor also made threats to destroy the lighting apparatus during the outburst.
Stone defended the Oscar winner’s actions, saying that people who were critical of him for his behavior needed to “grow up”, even though The Dark Knight actor later expressed regret for the incident. The actress shared:
“People want to get up in his business while he’s trying to completely transform into another person. Then he’s like, ‘Get away from me!’ and they want to criticise him for not being available to them. I find that a little bit… you know, maybe they should just grow up.”
Christian Bale Attributed His Famous On-set Rant To His Character
A few months before the film Terminator Salvation opened in theaters, in February 2009, a recording of Christian Bale went viral. ScreenRant claimed that the audio recording, which featured footage of the actor going on an angry rant during July 2008 filming in New Mexico, was made without the actor’s knowledge. He verbally attacks Shane Hurlbut, the movie’s cinematographer, who had entered the set to check a light while a scene was being filmed.
Bale had an interview with GQ before the 2009 release of McG’s film. Needless to say, the interviewer brought up the incident that happened during the filming of the movie. The actor, for his part, claimed that his focus on his performance as John Connor was the reason behind the outburst:
“As far as playing [John Connor], I thought of it mainly in terms of his mom. He’s got this mad dog of a mom who everybody thinks is crazy but whose prophecies turn out to be true. I felt that a lot of her ferocity and recklessness had to be passed down. … [That incident] wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t been playing that scene, for Christ’s sake, between John Connor and his wife, which is probably the most intense one in the movie..”
Hurlbut, for his part, apologized generously during the recording, but he was unable to engage in a heated argument with the star of Terminator Salvation. Bale received a lot of backlash for his outburst, though some in the entertainment industry supported him.
Watch Terminator Salvation now on VIX.
