Christian Bale says he acted as ‘mediator’ between David O Russell and Amy Adams on American Hustle set

Christian Bale says he acted as an ad hoc “mediator” on the set of the 2014 crime film American Hustle.

Director David O Russell has been said to have regularly fought with Bale’s co-star Amy Adams during production.

In 2016, Adams claimed that Russell had made her cry “most” days while filming took place, saying: “I was really just devastated on set.”

“He was hard on me, that’s for sure,” she told GQ, revealing that she had no intention of working with the filmmaker again.

In a new interview with GQ, Bale opened up about his own role in the disputes.

“I did what I felt was appropriate, in very Irv style,” he explained, referencing his American Hustle character.

“If I can have some sense of understanding of where it’s coming from, then I do tend to attempt to be a mediator,” he continued. “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.’”

Despite the turbulence, Bale stipulates that he looks back on the project fondly.

“You’re dealing with two such incredible talents there,” he said.

“Look, if I feel like we got anywhere close – and you only ever get somewhere close to achieving; our imagination is too incredible to ever entirely achieve it – but if you get anywhere close to it, and when you’re working with people of the crazy creative talent of Amy or of David, there are gonna be upsets. But they are f***ing phenomenal.”

Bale has a starring role in Russell’s new film Amsterdam, which is released in cinemas on Friday 7 October.

Russell has also been at the centre of other offscreen controversies in the past. In 2012, a police report obtained by The Smoking Gun revealed that Russell’s niece accused him of groping her at a gym.

Nichole Peloquin, the daughter of Russell’s adoptive sister who was undergoing gender reassignment surgery at the time, told police that Russell offered to help her with abdominal exercises before touching their breasts.

Russell’s spokesperson told The Wrap in a statement that the director “emphatically denies any wrongdoing and has cooperated fully with the authorities”.