Christian Bale's Terminator Meltdown

Posted on February 2, 2009

Remember those stories about what a terrible temper Christian Bale exhibited on the movie set of Terminator: Salvation? Well, it turns out they were true. The incident happened last summer just days before he had the shoving match with his mother and sister.

The crew was shooting on location at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, when during a scene L. Shane Hurlbut, the director of cinematography, somehow distracted Christian during the shot by walking behind another actor to check the lighting.

Christian went crazy, berating the guy mercilessly in front of several hundred people, including cast, crew and military personnel. He is relentless and abusive, threatening to "kick his ass", demanding him to leave the set, calling him unprofessional, then demanding that he be fired or else he would quit the film. Shane apologizes immediately, but Christian just keeps verbally pounding on the guy.

As the abusive tirade continues, the sound guys kept recording the whole thing, which the producers sent to the film's insurers as evidence against Christian in the event that he quit the film.

You can hear Christian's vicious tirade on TMZ. Be warned: it's rude, laced with profanity and sounds pretty scary. It's not acting: Bale really sounds unhinged. It's unprofessional and totally disgusting behavior.

Bale has since apologized for the incident. He says, "I acted like a punk."