Christian Bale Reveals He Had To Defend Amy Adams From A Director

Christian Bale says he had to intervene between Amy Adams and David O. Russell on the set of American Hustle.

By Matthew Creith | Published

Director David O. Russell has been a controversial figure in entertainment for decades due to arguments he seems to have on the set of his movies with his actors. One such instance on American Hustle resulted in lead actor Christian Bale stepping in and mediating an argument between Amy Adams and Russell, seemingly because the director made his lead star cry. For a career that includes the critically acclaimed films Three Kings with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, as well as Silver Linings Playbook, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, it’s Russell’s work on I Heart Huckabees and American Hustle that has seemed to get the director some controversial attention over the years. 

According to an interview with GQ, Christian Bale has confirmed a longstanding rumor that he had to help Amy Adams out while they were together filming the 2013 film, American Hustle, as director David O. Russell enraged Adams so much that she started to cry on the set. Known for his method acting approach to filming movies, Bale broke character to step in and assist Amy Adams during a tense moment on the set of the movie they both starred in, apparently yelling “back off” to his frequent collaborating director.

Adams had previously noted in interviews after the movie was released in theaters that she had a hard time with Russell’s working relationship with her, and that many of the days on that set were hard for her, but she went on to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress nonetheless.

christian bale amy adams

Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Melissa Leo, and Amy Adams all co-starred in David O. Russell’s hit 2010 film The Fighter, which saw Wahlberg reunite with his Three Kings director, and earned each of them nominations at that year’s Academy Awards. Russell is quite known for working with several actors multiple times, as is the case for Bale who has costarred in The Fighter, American Hustle, and the upcoming historical epic dramedy Amsterdam, alongside Margot Robbie, John David Washington, and Taylor Swift. The director is also well-known for his temper, something that has caused great controversy for many actors on his sets, including an infamous altercation with actor Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees.

Even before Christian Bale and Amy Adams co-starred together in some of David O. Russell’s best films, the director and Lily Tomlin had a moment on the set of I Heart Huckabees that eventually went viral after the film’s release. Entertainment Weekly reports that the dramatic argument between Tomlin and Russell erupted on the set in a moment of disagreement between the two, and that Tomlin has nothing but respect for her former director these days.

Adams, on the other hand, may not feel the same way, but that hasn’t seemed to stop Russell from getting A-list actors to sign onto his projects like Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Anya-Taylor Joy, and Michael Shannon who all costar in Amsterdam releasing in theaters on October 7.