Christian Bale has admitted he made a mistake signing on to play John Connor in McG’s poorly-received 2009 science-fiction sequel Terminator Salvation.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the British actor confirmed he had doubts about working with the Charlie’s Angels director prior to joining the cast of the fourth Terminator film, but was swayed by the film-maker’s enthusiasm.
“He goes, ‘Give me a chance. Everyone needs to evolve, and I need to turn over a new leaf. And please, you must’ve been in this position before yourself, when someone has taken a leap of faith on you,’ – which I have – ‘please do that for me now; I promise you, I’m ready for it’.”
Unfortunately for Bale – and McG – Terminator Salvation turned out to be the weakest instalment yet in the long-running sci-fi saga created by James Cameron. It received lukewarm reviews from critics and took just $371m at the global box office, down almost $150m from the series’ high water mark, 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Adjusted for inflation, Salvation would have taken around a third of its predecessor’s total.
When asked if he was right to have given McG a chance, Bale replied: “There’s a lot of room for many approaches and many characters within the film industry. I won’t be working with him again, but I wish him very well. OK?”
Bale also discussed berating a paparazzo in Italy who had insulted his wife, but said he was otherwise uninterested in the kind of campaigning currently conducted by George Clooney. “It’s boring, isn’t it? You know what I mean? It doesn’t matter that he talks about it,” he said. “It’s like, come on, guys, just shut up. Just get on with it and live your lives and stop whining about it. I prefer not to whine about it.”
• Profile: Christian Bale
• One star review: Terminator Salvation
