Does Natalie Portman think Christian Bale is tedious, arrogant & dismissive?

I’ve believed, with all my heart, that Christian Bale has been a d-bag for years now. Maybe it was the recording of Bale ripping some poor bastard a new one, maybe it was his too-extreme, too-“Method” absorption into his roles, maybe it was just a general vibe. Whatever it is, I’ve never really been all hot and bothered for Bale, and I’m often left with a feeling of utter bewilderment when some of you ladies are all “OMG, Christian Bale is My Fassbender.” Different strokes, etc, and I understand the urge to have a fantasy bone with a d-bag. But Bale is too douchey for even my fantasy life. Anyway, Bale was recently working with Natalie Portman on a film called Knight of Cups. According to The Enquirer, Natalie quickly grew a giant hate-on for Bale.

Natalie Portman is so fed up with her “Knight of Cups” co-star Christian Bale, she’s ready to walk off the film set. But since she’s too much of a professional to actually quit, she’s quietly trying to come to terms with his unbearable behavior, an insider told The Enquirer.

“Natalie can’t stand him,” the insider said. “She thinks he’s tedious, arrogant and a disgrace to the acting profession.”

Natalie and Christian have just an hour’s worth of scenes to film together, but Christian’s need for perfection and to be the center of attention is causing the shoot to drag on forever. And that’s driving Natalie nuts, says the insider.

“Christian is constantly frustrated by his own work and incredibly intense and highly stressed over each scene,” noted the source. “He’ll insist they shoot over and over again because he didn’t like how he punctuated a line or something. Sometimes they wind up spending all night on the set just to satisfy Christian’s obsessive perfectionism.”

“Natalie’s really offended by Christian’s behavior and feels he’s completely dismissive of her… she thinks he’s all about his ego, and he doesn’t care who he insults or inconveniences.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

I believe some of this, and I’ve put the rest of it on co-sign lay-away. I do think it’s a matter of interpretation – Bale is known for being an OCD perfectionist, for going to extreme lengths with his “Method” and for being a difficult actor to work with. Does it follow that Natalie would label hin as “tedious, arrogant and a disgrace to the acting profession.” Tedious? Sure. Totally. Arrogant? I could see that. But a disgrace to the acting profession? Eh. Even though I’m sure he’s a miserable person in real life, and a miserable coworker, he does put all of it on screen. He is one of the best actors out there right now. He’s a great actor… and a terrible person.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

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