In the blasted post-apocalyptic future of Terminator Salvation, the ethereal beauty of Bryce Dallas Howard emerges through seared earth and homicidal machines that stalk the land, as a beacon of hope that Christian Bale’s John Connor returns home to after battling for our future. As Kate Connor, she is the film’s emotional rock, and Howard plays her with humanity in a world being quickly depleted of it. Perhaps best known for her roles in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village and Lady in the Water, Howard also starred in Manderlay, the second part in subversive filmmaker Lars Von Trier’s “America” trilogy. Here, the actress reflects on her Terminator fever, the Christian Bale scandal, and why McG, the film’s director, threw cookies at her.

How did you react to the controversy surrounding Christian Bale that erupted a few months ago?
It was really a shame, because this is a man who I respect and adore, and had a really lovely experience working with. For me, what happens on a set should really remain private, so that was really sad. That aside, I feel like he handled it in the way he of course would: as a gentleman. He apologized profusely, and made no excuses, so I do not feel like it’s going to have an impact on the reception of the film.

I think the way he handled it was, like you said, perfect.
He is a very gracious human being. He viewed this as an opportunity to say something that actually needed to be said, in general. He demonstrated that graciousness and humility within his apology.

What about the way he gets into character? Is it true that he loses his British accent if his character doesn’t have one, even after the cameras stop rolling?
A little bit, yeah. I wouldn’t necessarily call him a Method actor or anything like that, because sometimes when people are a little method-y it gets distracting, and you’re like, wait a second, Let’s just be human beings again! But he is very collaborative as Christian Bale. He is not John Connor all the time, but I did actually notice after the film that he lost his accent when he started speaking, and I was like, Oh wait, you’re from Wales!

Read the full article here.