This kind of blow-up happens in the film industry all the time, even if it may seem uncommon to those employed in other fields. I've worked as an actress in the professional film and theatre industry for eight years and I can't even begin to count the number of times I've seen worse happen, so it's kind of amusing that such a big deal is being made over it just because a tape leaked. In this industry, it's not uncommon for actors to work 18-hour days, get a four hour break and then have to show up on set for the next day's call time again - especially during intense periods of production. Having to do a highly emotional scene at the end of a miserable day of long hours and no sleep, and then have it ruined by an incompetent crew member who should have known better, is enough to make plenty of actors snap. Of course it's wrong and they usually know it. The next day (or even an hour later), they will apologise to the person they yelled at and everyone moves on. It's just the way things work.
It's only when the dispute is unresolved and an actor (or crew member) remains petulant or antagonistic that it actually becomes an issue, and either someone gets fired or the producers/execs/some higher power has to step in. This is not a common scenario, however. Most professionals know better and even though the blow-up might be reported in the press, the kiss and make-up is rarely reported because it is less intriguing to the general public. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
My point is, all this talk of 'not being professional' is fair enough but even the most experienced professionals in the business lose it on a regular basis, if not, occasionally. Creative people are known to be temperamental - some of the best actors and directors are also some of the most short-tempered. I've had a shoe thrown at my head on stage by a top theatre director in my country because I happened to be standing in the wrong place during a tech run, gotten yelled at by co-actors because of blocking disputes and other silly reasons, seen the Boom Operator get verbally abused because the boom was in shot for the hundredth time (I lost count), been dressed down and humiliated for fifteen minutes in front of a cast and crew of 30++ in a room for something that was eventually shown to be someone else's fault... the list goes on. But at the end of the day, once the tempers die down, people stop crying and it's a wrap, the ones involved have serious talks with one another, apologise and sort out their differences professionally. Almost everyone loses their temper at some point or other but it doesn't make them unprofessional - only human. It's how they deal with it afterwards that separates the professionals from the petty, unremorseful, amateurish and self-indulgent.
Am not in any way excusing what Christian Bale did but from most accounts, he handled the matter in a professional way after throwing a strop. The fact that he apologised himself instead of issuing a statement through his publicist speaks well of him, I think. Most actors of his stature wouldn't bother. It's just sad that so many are talking about this incident as if it's anything other than just another emotional outburst out of the hundreds that happen every day on film sets around the world. To put it in another context, it's a little like someone knocking over an entire shelf of bottled sauces that shatter and splash everywhere in a grocery store. Yes, frustrating for the employees who have to clean up the mess but the culprit probably apologised and the whole thing is ultimately neither newsworthy nor that big a deal.
