Christian Bale: 'I took it way too far'

On the tape, Bale threatens to have Hurlbut fired, but the actor apparently later backed off on this demand. Bale summarized the threat as "hot air" during the KROQ interview and took pains to praise Hurlbut's work. He also added pointedly, "I heard a lot of people say I think I'm better than anybody else. Nothing could be further than the truth."

Neither Hurlbut nor his agent returned calls, and Bale declined to speak to The Times directly about the incident on set, which occurred in July, around the same time Bale was arrested for verbally abusing his mother and sister, though the charges were later dropped.

Almost all publicly discovered bad behavior on behalf of megastars is usually followed by an apology of sorts, whether it's Hugh Grant copping to his escapade with prostitute Divine Brown on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" or Russell Crowe apologizing on "Late Night With David Letterman" for throwing a phone at a hotel clerk, an event that wound up with the "Gladiator" star ultimately pleading guilty to assault and paying the clerk an undisclosed sum of money.

Some in Hollywood have wondered -- though not publicly -- why, as the director, McG didn't step in and stop Bale from berating Hurlbut. The director, whose credits include the "Charlie's Angels" franchise, explained: "I had it in control completely. I was between Shane and Christian, making it safe. Trying to out-yell them would only prove inflammatory." McG is also heard on the tape suggesting a break so everybody can cool down, a suggestion the irate Bale ignores. "If I try to out-puff and -huff them, I traditionally find that to be counterproductive."

McG said he was outraged that the tape became public. "It's illegal, and the anti-piracy people at the studio are going to pursue it to the full extent of the law. You have got to have actors feel safe on the set, so they can transcend the things they do in their normal lives."

However, verbal abuse in the workplace is hardly a private affair. But Hollywood also has a tradition of what happens on the set is theoretically private, with the idea that actors require privacy and protection in order to be able to do their best, most intimate work.

Still, Bale cautioned on the radio that the ritual of set privacy "is not there for covering up bad behavior. That is there so creatively you can experiment with things that may be abysmal or may be embarrassing beyond belief. There is the trust that nobody will ever see it. It will be destroyed if it ever didn't work.

"Please, I want to make it clear. I am embarrassed by it. I regret it. I ask everybody to sit down and ask themselves if they have ever had a bad day and lost their temper and really regretted it immensely."

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rachel.abramowitz@latimes.com