Christian Bale’s serial killer outing in the 2000 film American Psycho has gained a cult following over the years. Bale’s Patrick Bateman became a reference for psychopathic characters in the movies that followed. Interestingly, The Dark Knight actor was not the first choice for the psycho-killer role, in fact, he had to fight for the role that rose him to prominence.
Mary Harron was initially set to direct the screenplay she co-wrote with Guinevere Turner, based on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same name. Harron had also cast Bale in the lead, but in a turn of events, both of them were replaced by Oliver Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio. However, Stone and DiCaprio left the project due to creative differences, forcing the production to consider The Machinist actor.
Christian Bale Had To Warn Off Ewan McGregor From Taking The Role
The producers were still hesitant to cast Christian Bale in the role, and they even considered Ewan McGregor for the role. However, two things worked in favor of the Ford v. Ferrari actor. Firstly, the studio rehired Mary Harron as the director, who insisted upon casting Bale in the lead role. Secondly, Bale could successfully warn McGregor against taking on the role. The American Hustle actor shared to Mirror:
“It reached the point where the film studio said about me, ‘Don’t mention his name again.’ But when Leo dropped out, the film company said, ‘Let’s call that crazy guy who keeps telling everyone he can play the lead.’ I even warned other actors off – including Ewan McGregor. I was not going to be bullied out of the part – I was going to stand up for myself and fight. So when I look back, problems in childhood can make you into the man you become.”
The Vice actor’s remarks referred to the bullying he had to suffer in his school years. The Fighter actor played the lead in Steven Spielberg‘s film Empire of the Sun in 1987. Following his popularity as a film star in a Spielberg film, he was bullied and considered quitting acting due to the overwhelming work pressure. However, The Prestige actor decided against it, for financial reasons.
Christian Bale Was Advised Against Taking On The Role
Before Christian Bale warned off the Star Wars actor, others tried to warn the Little Women actor against playing the psycho villain. According to them, Patrick Bateman could be a career killer as it would limit his options to only villainous roles. Some even cited the example of Anthony Perkins, who despite his talent, did not get diverse roles after his outing as Norman Bates in Psycho.
However, Christian Bale believed that the satirical nature of the film and Patrick Bateman’s character would be a lot different than the typical psycho villains. The gamble paid off handsomely, as the role propelled The Big Short actor into the ranks of Hollywood A-listers. The movie gained $34 million at the box office against a budget of $7 million.
Interestingly, the Amsterdam actor later found out that most of his co-actors thought him to be the worst actor. They even questioned Harron sticking up for such a subpar actor. However, their perception changed once they saw the reception that Bale got from the audience.
The Hostiles actor is now popularly known among movie lovers for his crazy physical transformations for different roles. Christian Bale’s American Psycho is now available for streaming on Peacock.
Source: Mirror
