Acting superstar Christian Bale has made millions of fans around the world with his intensity, versatility, physicality, and powerhouse performances. Since his breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (when he was only 13 years old!) the British actor, now 48, has made a name for himself across multiple genres. From critically revered award-season flicks to family-friendly animations, and even an acclaimed blockbusting turn as Batman, Bale has managed to stay relevant for three and a half decades and racked up over $5.5 billion in box office receipts along the way.

Related: Why Steve Carell Was Nervous To Work With Christian Bale

And while the four-time Academy Award nominee is winning audiences over with his intensity and commitment to his craft, can the same be said about his relationships with his costars and crew? Rumors of difficulties on set have followed the dedicated actor for years, and just as the audio of Tom Cruise yelling at crew members on the set of Mission: Impossible 7 after he footed the bill to film through pandemic regulations came to light, a leaked clip of Christian Bale coming to heads with a cinematographer on the 2009 set of Terminator Salvation did not do much to sway doubters about his on-set reputation.

6 Christian Bale Yelled At The Director Of Photography On 'Terminator Salvation'

While filming the fourth entry in the Terminator series, Terminator Salvation, in 2008, Bale became frustrated when the director of photography Shane Hurlbut walked on set during a scene. In an expletive-laden tirade against the DoP, Bale chastised Hurlbut and threatened to quit the film. Leaked audio of the rant went viral, and was later remixed as satirical dance song "Bale Out: RevoLuciean's Christian Bale Remix". Bale apologized to Hurlbut and the two continued to work together. Despite making $371 million at the box office, production troubles on the film led rights holders The Halcyon Company to file for bankruptcy, and all future sequels featuring Bale as John Connor were canceled.

5 Christian Bale Was Intense In 'American Psycho'

13 years into his acting career, Bale made the leap to leading man with his role as stock market investor slash serial killer Patrick Bateman in the 2000 black comedy horror American Psycho. Director Mary Harron fought to cast Bale against the studio who wished for Leonardo DiCaprio, and when it came time to filming, the supporting cast couldn't understand why.

"[Josh Lucas] informed me that all of the other actors thought that I was the worst actor they’d ever seen," said Bale years later while recounting filming American Psycho. "They kept looking at me and talking about me, saying, 'Why did Mary fight for this guy? He’s terrible.'"

Related: How Tom Cruise Inspired Christian Bale's Performance In 'American Psycho'

4 Christian Bale's 'American Psycho' Co-Stars Did Not Know How To Interact With Him On-Set

Bale's intense on-set behaviors might be common knowledge in the movie industry now, but back in 2000 with no lead roles yet under his belt, Bale left his co-stars confused about his acting methods. And their doubts about the soon-to-be star extended to his on-set behavior as well. Co-star Chloe Sevigny struggled to come to terms with her experiences with Bale on set. "Working with Christian was pretty hard because I didn’t know this whole Method thing," she said. "I was pretty fresh. I hadn’t done that many films before, and that an actor would lose himself to such a degree and was so consumed by the part, I was having a hard time kind of… just wanting to socialize with him, but feeling that he didn’t, and then my ego being like, 'Does he not like me? Does he think I’m a terrible actress?'"

3 Christian Bale Does Not Employ Method Acting

Christian Bale has carved a career for himself by doing the utmost for the audience to believe his character, often praised for the lengths he will go to for his craft. He famously shed 64 pounds to play emaciated insomniac Trevor Reznik in The Machinist (2004), only to bulk up an additional 70 pounds, including 30 pounds of muscle, just one year later to play Batman. But Bale insists he is not a method actor. "I always think, 'Oh, man, I can’t do this. I dunno what I’m doing,'" the actor told Good Morning America. "Everyone always says I’m a method actor; I’m not - you have to study Stanislavski to be a method actor. I just wing it. I don’t really have a particular technique, I just go, 'Alright, let’s see what happens now.'"

And while Bale's technique, or lack thereof, has alienated his co-stars, and his comments about the industry might not be winning him any fans while at work, he continues to win audiences over with his commitment to each character, and his reticence in showing the world any part of his true self. Bale believes that knowing anything about an actor's personal life will only distract from their performance, and as such he employs a rather unusual technique to help convince audiences of his performance.

Related: Did Christian Bale Take His Preparation For 'The Machinist' Too Far?

2 Christian Bale Will Use A Character's Accent To Promote A Film

Bale's unknowable personality comes on the back of his belief that "if you know something about somebody, it gets in the way of just watching the guy as the character." Bale has also said that inhabiting "a character without showing anything of myself" is his "ultimate goal", and he goes the distance to convince audiences of his dedication. While promoting a film, Bale will continue to use the accent that he utilized in the movie, to create a sense of continuity for the audience. But this was problematic behind the scenes. "He was just so 100 percent committed as an actor to being this character, to a disturbing point," said his American Psycho co-star Guinevere Turner. "He never spoke in his real accent and he never socialized with anyone while we were shooting."

1 Christian Bale Does Not Know If His Reputation Precedes Him

In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, the Vice actor was asked if his now decade-old rant on the set of Terminator Salvation dogged him, but the actor just shrugged in reply. "People don’t mention it to me, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t follow me around. I’m not aware of it if it does." Instead, what he feels is a sense of worry that this might all end, spurred on perhaps, by insecurity. "The fact anybody hires me is surprising," he says, but from what little he has shared about his home life, that may not be so hard to understand: his children mock him incessantly for his acting prowess. "They think I’m the worst actor ever. My daughter can’t believe that anyone pays me.”

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