Christian Bale has set an incredible example of what an actor can do to fully unleash their craft. With insane transformations and amazing method acting, he has earned a high reputation in the industry. However, to think that the iconic personality would get envious of another fellow star in the industry sounds ridiculous but the fact is, he reportedly considered Leonardo DiCaprio as his rival.
The Dark Knight trilogy star has been in intense competition with Hollywood’s Playboy as the duo had similar acting kickstart with the latter snagging the roles that the former was interested in.
Christian Bale’s Reported Feud With Leonardo DiCaprio Explained
“DiCaprio. The name burned Christian like a branding iron,” Cheung wrote. “Over the years, Christian had lost This Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape to DiCaprio. Christian had read for the part of Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet but was told that they had decided to cast an African-American in the part instead.”
Even DiCaprio’s breakout role as Jack in 1997’s Titanic was one gig that the Batman actor wanted but the film director’s reported condition became his barrier.
“Christian too had gone up for the part of Jack Dawson in Titanic but was told that James Cameron didn’t want two British lead actors playing the two leads who were both supposed to be American.”
After several hardships and failures, he got his chance when he snagged the American Psycho project which was another project the duo was competing in.
Christian Bale Owes His Acting Career to Leonardo DiCaprio
The English actor has himself credited his arch-nemesis for his successful career sharing,
“Do you know how grateful I am to get any damn thing? I mean, I can’t do what he does,” he shared. “And he does it magnificently. But I would suspect that almost everybody of similar age to him in Hollywood owes their careers to him passing on whatever project it is.”
Source: Glamour
