29. Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation AP/Warner Bros

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Just as some people need no introduction, some interviews need none either.

It’s Christian Bale. We’re in a Paris hotel room. And it’s three months since the Dark Knight and now Terminator Salvation star’s four-minute rant at director of photography Shane Hurlbut (who ­accidentally strolled into Bale’s eye-line during a scene) leaked on the internet.

Highlights included “I’m gonna kick your f***ing ass” and “no, don’t just be sorry”. The word f*** was used 37 times.

Is the infamous rant going­ to overshadow the film?

“Well, that’s up to them,” says the 35-year-old, curtly. “I’ve got no idea.” Silence. I try a different tack. Does he worry what people think?

“Listen, people decide for themselves what they think. The whole thing is four minutes in 77 days, you know?”

But isn’t that the point? It’s four minutes. Not an outburst. Not a few cross words. It’s a prolonged haranguing of someone far lower down the film food chain. When I later put to director McG that he should have stepped in, he says: “I don’t believe that. When people have their blood up, you have to let it run its course. It’s my job to protect the actor at all times.”

Note: the actor. Or rather, the star, and of a fourth Terminator film (he plays an older John Connor leading the war against machines) that probably­ wouldn’t have got off the ground without him.

Read our Terminator Salvation review

Bale recently­ called it a “breach of trust” that it had been leaked. You could argue­ that’s not the point.

Put another way, then, isn’t he concerned how he’s been portrayed?

“No, because I can’t control that. You’ve got to move on. You make amends, as everyone does, for things you regret­ doing in life [he’s since apologised to Hurlbut and admitted going “way over the top”]. But as for the public form of that, I really remain­ oblivious. I truly do. I don’t care.”

You almost have to respect this refusal to prostrate himself­. When asked, cast members line up to make ­excuses. Moon Bloodgood, who plays a fellow resistance fighter, talks about working long days: “You’re in the desert, it’s four months, you’re killing terminators…” Bryce Dallas Howard, who plays his wife, says it’s been taken out of context: “We were shooting a scene where we were getting ourselves riled up, he was supposed­ to be losing his mind.”

McG adds that Bale, born in Wales, ranted in an American accent “because­ he’s very much still in character”. Sighing, Bale explains it thus: “Look, I never got into this because I love movies. I got into it because I love putting myself in other people’s shoes. I love the immersion. And hey, occasionally that can get a bit misdirected, you know? I’ve seen that happen in many wonderful film-makers I’ve worked with. Am I going to worry about it? Not in the slightest.”

Of course, this “in character” argument only goes so far. Add the arrest last July after a heated ­exchange with his mother and sister, and it’s not hard to paint a picture. The family row is one topic he won’t discuss.

Does he feel, generally, that he goes to extremes?

“I enjoy ­testing myself. That notion of could I or not, whether it’s hacking through a jungle [in Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn] or seeing if you can not really eat over a number of months [in The Machinist­, when he lost more than 60lb in a strict dieting­ regime].

“The most boring sets to me are where you’re in a trailer and just going on to a stage – that’s not what I’m doing­ it for. I like to be off in the middle of nowhere, getting­ my hands dirty, or my mind, with fellow adventurers who are a little bit nuts, you know?”

During The Machinist, he says, he had so little energy he refused to speak to the crew, only talking for the scenes. Could his level of dedication be slightly unhealthy?

“That level of dedication is actually very satisfying. We get so distracted with everyday­ life, it’s very rare we get to just dedicate ourselves to one thing and focus.”

So any chance of other Christian Bale “rant” tapes leaking out? “What, from me?” he asks, seemingly shocked for the first time during our interview. “No.”

For the sake of one of ­Hollywood’s most talented­ actors, you hope so.

"I never got into this because I love movies. I got into it because I love putting myself in other people’s shoes."

Terminator Salvation is out next week.

Read our Terminator Salvation review

// Extra! Extra! More Bale online

Taking the part

Oh man, it took me a hell of a long time, really. It was definitely a lot of persistence from him [director McG] and the studio as well. The script that I read, I just said no straight away to it.

Then there’s this fella called McG – McG? What the hell? What kind of name is that? He had a fairly well known phobia of flying; and he wanted to fly out from LA to meet me in London, just for half an hour – and I thought, I’ve got to give the guy half an hour if he’s doing that.

But then I still came to the conclusion that the script wasn’t strong enough for any sort of revival – and that’s when I started going, okay, what are you going to come up with? So I started to hear their ideas, I started to like that. Ultimately, I thought, okay, I’ll take this leap of faith, I’ll go for it.

Film snobbishness

A number of people made comments to me that I shouldn’t do it [Terminator Salvation], a lot of people saying “no no no, don’t do it”.

And I’m bloody minded - the more people tell me not to do something, the more I’m going to go. You know? Don’t tell me what I shouldn’t do! And especially when it started getting kind of snobby, people saying no, I’m too good for that kind of stuff. That’s just way too precious - I love so many different kinds of movies, okay, so this isn’t your high brow, you know, art house movie, well, CHRIST, I’d be bored if every movie was that. I love going along and seeing a great roller coaster ride of a movie.

And I want to make the movies that are really personal, mean something to me, where, hell, I don’t know if even three people are going to go see it.

I want to make all different kinds, and I’ve found myself as an actor that is suddenly considered for these kinds of parts, so I decided all right I want to give that a shot.

Being typecast in action roles

I’m no, no, because to me it’s a surprise I’m ever up for any of those anyway. I’m really grateful I’ve had the opportunity to try to make those.

You know, certainly that’s been successful with Batman with Chris Nolan; I don’t know if I’ll be making another one of those or not, that’s up to Chris if he decides to make another one. You know, we’ll wait and see with Terminator and if there’s another one of those, and if not, hey, that might be it, that might be run in these co-called blockbuster movies.

But I’ve always loved many different kinds of movies, you know, and I will continue to mix it up between making movies I’ve done with Werner Herzog and Brad Anderson, and Todd Haynes, and I absolutely love making those movies and will always do so, I would be bored beyond belief - and I’d be a whole different person, that’s not my motivation – if I turned around and said, no, I’m making big movies, I want to carry on just making big movies. I want to continue doing a whole wide variety of movies.

Co-star Sam Worthington

When I saw him I thought, he’s fantastic - he’s unknown in the States and I think he’s done a really superb job.

Future Terminator sequels

I think that there’s a great deal we could do. I think we’ve done the establishment of Connor in this one. But there’s a great deal that really can be played with, and I think that’s ultimately why I chose it, because I think that the potential for future stories that really could get more interesting for him.

Hating his mobile

A week without a mobile? I not only can but I do do it. All the time. Yeah. I loath the day I finally gave in and bought a cell-phone. Because I love just being out, and hey, look, if someone really really really wants to get hold of me? They’ll find me. And then I’m pretty awful with technology, I’m pretty old school.