14 DAY TRIAL // Christian Bale is, at the moment, one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood. At the same time, he is also building a reputation as a short-tempered man who will let nothing and no one stand in his way. A recording just made public, from the set of “Terminator: Salvation,” in which Bale lashes out at the director of photography, is now used as proof for this by an insurance company.
The incident occurred a few months back, when Shane Hurlbut, DP, walked in the middle of shooting a scene to check on the lights. He was not aware, it seems, that the cameras were rolling, which made Bale lose his temper and launch a verbal attack on the careless crew member. Not only that, but, at one point on the recording, the actor is actually heard jumping to pick a fight with Hurlbut, only to be stopped by other crew members on the set.
All the while screaming at Hurlbut, Christian Bale also threatens to leave the film if the DP is still kept on to work on it. Among the many things the actors throws in Hurlbut’s face is that he is not professional and clearly has no understanding whatsoever about what acting really is, otherwise he would not stroll in the middle of a scene just like that. Towards the end of the almost 4-minute rant, Bale declares he is done working with Hurlbut, and even makes a rather veiled threat that the DP would never work in the movie industry again.
“Then why the [expletive] are you walking right through like ‘adadadaaa,’ like this in the background.” Bale yells when Hurlbut tells him that he is sorry for ruining his scene. “You’re a nice guy but that doesn’t cut it when you’re [expletive]-ing and [expletive]-ing around on set!” he adds, bluntly telling the DP that he has no business on set while they’re shooting. Hurlbut, on his behalf, can be heard struggling to come up with an excuse for ruining the scene, but Bale is having nothing of it.
The recording is now used by an insurance company in case Christian Bale bails out on the film, as leverage. This is not the first time that the actor’s temper got him in hot waters, as last year his own mother and sister filed a verbal assault complaint against him.