Christian Bale says he had to act as a “mediator” between actor Amy Adams and director David O. Russell during filming of the 2013 movie “American Hustle.”
In GQ’s November cover story, published Wednesday, Bale recalled trying to keep the peace between the two. Adams had previously said she butted heads with Russell on the film set.
“If I can have some sense of understanding of where it’s coming from, then I do tend to attempt to be a mediator,” the Oscar-winning actor said about the friction between Adams and Russell. “That’s just in my nature, to try to say, ‘Hey, come on, let’s go and sit down and figure that out. There’s gotta be a way of making this all work.’”
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In 2016, Adams told British GQ that the “Silver Linings Playbook” director made her cry during her time on “American Hustle.”
Adams said she also learned through an email hack at Sony that she was being paid less than her male co-stars, including Bale, which added to her frustrations.
“I was really just devastated on set,” Adams said to British GQ.
The Sony hack also revealed that Russell “so abused Amy Adams that Christian Bale got in his face and told him to stop acting like an asshole” on the “American Hustle” set.
Bale’s interviewer noted in his recent GQ profile that when he questioned Bale about standing up to Russell on Adams’ behalf, he responded by nodding “yes.”
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Bale, however, was careful with his choice of words while confirming that he stuck up for Adams, saying “there are gonna be upsets,” given the “crazy creative talent” of Adams and Russell.
Adams is not the first actor to report having difficulty working with Russell.
In 2004, a video from the set of “I Heart Huckabees” showed Russell yelling profanities at star Lily Tomlin and angrily throwing props. In 2015, TMZ reported that Russell and Jennifer Lawrence engaged in a heated conversation on the set of “Joy.” Lawrence did try to clear up “rumors” that they fought by releasing a statement that Russell “is one of my closest friends and we have an amazing collaborative working relationship.”
Although Bale told GQ that he acted as a “mediator” on the set of “American Hustle,” he’s also been caught being far less composed on set.
In 2009, a viral video seemed to show Bale viciously ripping into the director of photography on the set of “Terminator Salvation.” Shane Hurlbut received the profanity-filled tongue-lashing after he made the mistake of walking into Bale’s scene during a take.
Bale later confirmed that he did have the on-set temper tantrum and apologized for his actions, calling his behavior “inexcusable” and admitting he “acted like a punk.”