Christian Bale and Matt Damon are two of the finest actors of today’s time. While Damon is best revered for being a one-of-a-kind action star, Bale has made a name for himself as being one of the best method actors in the entire realm of cinema. Having worked in just one movie together in their decades-long careers, both are now Hollywood legends that even A-list actors look up to.
Having brought to life several revolutionary and brilliant characters, Damon once remarked how he agreed with the hardcore way Bale took to secure his once-controversial, now-remarkable American Psycho role.
Christian Bale’s Unusual Way of Securing His Legendary American Psycho Role
American Psycho probably is one of the best Christian Bale movies of all time. The satirical horror film, which offers a critical commentary on the materialist and consumerism culture of the 1980s, is now one of the best movies of all time and a cult classic. Released to mixed reviews, the film helped solidify Bale’s career as a promising actor and gave him the boost he so deserved.
However, it was not easy for Bale to get cast in the movie, since the production was dead-set on casting a reputable and bankable star in the diabolical comedy film. Despite being kicked out of the project, director Mary Harron and Bale were persistent about the project, which eventually fell into their hands once the studio figured out that only they could have made such a film (via The Guardian).
Part of this persistence was Bale calling up other actors, attached to the project, to tell them to drop it. In an interview with GQ, along with Matt Damon, Bale revealed,
We’d done staged readings in New York to get the financing for it… Then we got financiers and then the financiers kicked us off it… I’d just been obsessing on doing this – months and months of nothing but thinking about that – and then it was going to a few other actors. So I would drop them a call and just sort of say, ‘Grrr.’
It is fascinating to see the efforts Bale put to bag the role, and his efforts have since been fully rewarded given how much of a success the film has been. Although he had an unusual approach to getting the role, even Damon agreed that he would have done the same.
Matt Damon Wholeheartedly Supports What Christian Bale Did to Get American Psycho
It is often said that when you desperately desire something, you are sure to receive it. And that is what happened with Christian Bale and his legendary American Psycho role. Seeing the efforts the actor put into his role as Patrick Bateman, and the subsequent praise the actor received, it is obvious that no other actor could have ever played the role as well as the Dark Knight star did.
Even his Ford v Ferrari co-star, Matt Damon agreed with him during their interview with GQ. When asked if he would have done something similar, Damon stated,
But I certainly would. Projects do have a life of their own, where you realize somebody’s got a big investment in it. And the business has kind of conspired to cheat them a little. That takes on a different hue. So, yeah, if I got that voicemail, I would have walked away from that part. Because you just go, ‘That’s bad karma’ at that point.
Known best for his role as Jason Bourne in the Bourne franchise, Damon is not wrong, for it is disturbing to imagine anyone else portraying the many iconic characters Damon has played throughout his incredible career.
American Psycho can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
