Christian Bale is one of the most beyond-famous celebrities in Hollywood, thanks mostly to his immaculate method-acting chops. Out of all his big screen projects throughout his career, his massive $34 million box office success American Psycho, still ranks as one of his best-ever performances to date.
Yet, as much as he was commended for his epic portrayal of Patrick Bateman, there was a time when he was actually fired from the movie along with director Mary Harron by Lionsgate after the latter threatened to quit if the Titanic alum Leonardo DiCaprio was brought on board for the 2000’s epic thriller.
Christian Bale’s American Psycho Almost Didn’t Star Him!
As surprising as it is, Lionsgate wanted Leonardo DiCaprio instead of Christian Bale for the role of Patrick Bateman, and thus, brought him on board without telling the directors or even the writers. As Guinevere Turner recalled director Mary Harron’s reaction in An Oral History by MovieMaker:
“It was announced in the trades before anyone told us. And then Mary, amazingly—I always will be impressed with her for this—she’s just like, if they want it to be Leo DiCaprio, I’m not doing it.”
Since DiCaprio was big on his fame following 1997’s Titanic, everyone was confused as to why Harron didn’t want to work with him. But it wasn’t Leo who was the problem: the real problem was his fanbase, which mostly comprised of teenage girls who loved him for his role as Jack Dawson.
Thus, casting him as Bateman would’ve not only posed a problem as something “intolerable”, but as Harron mentioned, people would’ve also been “terrified” and interfered with the movie even more than they already were following the controversy–which would’ve, inevitably, been bad for the film.
Adding to this problem was the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio was being offered $20 million for the role, while the budget for the entire movie remained at $6 million, which was not a good thing at all.
“I knew I could only make this work if I had complete control over it, over the tone and everything,” Harron said, adding, “You’re giving the star enormous power over this project, and basically taking it away from the director if you’re making it that disproportionate. So that just didn’t interest me.”
However, the worst part was that even Mary Harron‘s threat of leaving the project didn’t stop Lionsgate from going on with DiCaprio.
Christian Bale & Mary Harron Were Fired & Rehired
Despite Mary Harron threatening to exit American Psycho, Lionsgate wasn’t flustered and instead ended up firing both Harron as well as Christian Bale. In Harron’s stead, they brought in Oliver Stone to direct the film.
This hiring news was further followed by reports of rewriting the script, including one that claimed that they were planning to take a more “Jekyll-and-Hyde approach” to Patrick Bateman, meaning it would include Leonardo DiCaprio being sympathetic in some scenes.
But then came feminist journalist Gloria Steinem in the picture, who was reported to have convinced the Titanic alum to drop the project by taking him to a baseball match and telling him:
“You’re the biggest movie star in the world right now, and teenage girls are living for you, and I really don’t want them all to run to the theater to see a movie where you’re a man who kills women.”
As true as it was, DiCaprio too ended up understanding it and wound up leaving the project. Eventually, it all came back to a full circle as Mary Harron was rehired for American Psycho along with Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, and the script was turned back to the $34 million grossing one that fans have seen and come to enjoy over the years.
