Christian Bale put on memorable performances, including his transformation for The Machinist. However, the one that put the actor on the map, was none other than American Psycho.Despite the film's success, it almost got a very different look, with potentially Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead, and others like Ewan McGregor also considered for the role. We'll take a look back at how it all went down, and why director Mary Harron struggled to get Bale onto the film. Ultimately, Bale got the role, and he thanks Leonardo DiCaprio for it, claiming that everything Leo decided against, eventually fell to him. Bale really wanted the role of Patrick Bateman and as it turns out, he warned others to stay away from it.
Christian Bale's Casting In American Psycho Was A Controversial Decision, With Ewan McGregor And Leonardo DiCaprio Also Attached To The Script
American Psycho put Christian Bale's career on the map. Released in 2000, the film put up decent numbers at the box office, but in the years that followed, Bale's take on Patrick Bateman would turn into a cult-classic.
Although Bale appeared to be perfect for the role, the casting process was not an easy one. Despite director Mary Harron's vision to have Bale in the lead, the studio kept persistent with Leonardo DiCaprio, given his fame from Titanic.
Harron recalled the complicated process alongside Den of Geek, “I didn’t agree with that,” Harron said about DiCaprio's potential casting.
“Partly because he was such a big star but also because he had a teenage girl fanbase. I just didn’t think he was right for it—so I was fired from the movie for a while.”
Plans for the script would eventually fall apart, and once it came back to Harron, Bale got the role.
“They couldn’t agree on the script, so they brought me back, and I was able to cast Christian."
In past interviews, Bale showed nothing but gratitude towards Harron, and her persistence in getting him onto the film. In addition, it seems as though Bale was also doing his best behind the scenes to get others removed from the potential role, including Ewan McGregor.
Christian Bale 'Advised' Ewan McGregor To Stay Away From The Role
Ewan McGregor and Christian Bale were familiar with each other, having worked on Velvet Goldmine back in 1998. McGregor even recalled a funny moment between the two on the film, when the duo didn't hear 'cut', and continued on during a very uncomfortable scene.
The circumstances were different this time around, and it seems as though Bale wasn't playing around. According to the actor, he strongly advised his peer against the role.
“Don’t touch. Step away. Or if you’re not going to step away, understand what you’re up against," Bale told the actor.
The harsh message seems to have worked, as Bale got the role and changed his career because of it. However, looking back, it turns out that his co-stars weren't as confident in his abilities. The word backstage was that Bale was failing in the role on-set.
Christian Bale's Co-Stars Weren't Convinced With His Performance In American Psycho
Reviews and critic scores were extremely high for the film, in large part, thanks to Christian Bale and his memorable performance.
However, according to Josh Lucas who also appeared in the film, the word behind the scenes among the cast wasn't a positive one during the shoot. So much so, that some of the cast called Bale, 'the worst actor'.
Bale revealed, "Josh Lucas and I did a film together recently and he opened my eyes to something that I had been unaware of. He informed me that all of the other actors thought that I was the worst actor they’d ever seen. He was telling me they kept looking at me and talking about me, saying, ‘Why did Mary fight for this guy? He’s terrible."
However, once the film got its release, the perception quickly changed.
"And it wasn’t until he saw the film that he changed his mind. And I was in the dark completely about that critique."
Thankfully, Bale wasn't aware of the criticisms, or else, it could've impacted his performance.