Batman star Christian Bale has been caught on tape launching into a foul-mouthed rant at one of the crew members on his forthcoming movie Terminator Salvation.The British-born actor, 35, repeatedly swore and threatened to 'kick your f**king a**' when director of photography Shane Hurlbut accidentally interrupted Bale mid-scene.
An audio tape of the alleged incident, which happened on set in New Mexico, last July, has been leaked on to the internet, prompting the film's assistant director to defend Bale's behaviour.
The on-set clash took place just two days before Bale had an argument with his mother Jenny and sister Sharon in a London hotel before the British premiere of The Dark Knight.
The audio tape was recorded during a particularly intense scene between Bale's John Connor character and actress Bryce Dallas Howard, who plays his on-screen wife.
According to TMZ.com, concerned film executives sent the tape recording to their insurance company over fears Bale would quit the film.
The actor is heard erupting in anger - and using the F-word 35 times - after cinematographer Hurlbut walks into his sightline.
During the row, Welsh-born Bale's accent fluctuates between American and English.
At the beginning of the recording, Bale fumes: 'I'm gonna kick your f**king a**.
When the film's assistant director Bruce Franklin attempts to calm the actor down, Bale is unrepentant.
He continued: 'Do I f**king walk around and rip... no, shut the f**k up Bruce... Do I...? No. No. Don't shut me up. Am I gonna walk around and rip your f**king lights down in the middle of a scene? Then why the f**k are you walking right through?
Bale then turns to director McG for his input, but it appears the latter is reluctant to get involved.
McG is heard saying: 'I didn't see it happen.'
After appearing to calm down, Bale tells the cameras to start rolling again, but soon erupts again when someone suggests he takes some time out to restore his mood.
He said: 'Let's not take a f**king minute, let's go again and let's not have you walking f**king in.
The recording ends on a cutting last comment from Bale to Hurlbut: 'Seriously, you and me, we're f**king done professionally.'
After the tape was released on to the internet this week, Franklin insisted it didn't portray Bale's normal on-set behaviour and he was simply having a bad day.
Franklin told E! Online: 'If you are working in a very intense scene and someone takes you out of your groove... It was the most emotional scene in the movie. And for him to get stopped in the middle of it - he is very intensely involved in his character.
'He didn't walk around like that all day long. It was just a moment and it passed.
'This was my second movie with Christian, and it has always been a good experience with him. He is so dedicated to the craft.
" I think someone is begging to make some noise [controversy] about this, but I don't think it's fair. The art of acting is not paint by numbers, it's an art form.'
Bale has a reputation for throwing tantrums on set.
Last year, his former publicist and adviser Harrison Cheung told the Mail on Sunday that Bale had trouble controlling his temper.
Referring to Bale's days as a teen actor, he said: 'If something wasn’t just so, Christian would just erupt. He would yell until he was red in the face. It was very intimidating.
'When he filmed a movie called Metroland with Emily Watson, his nickname on set was Tandy because he was always throwing tantrums.'
source: thehollywoodglobe.com
