The director of American Psycho, Mary Hennon, fought to cast Christian Bale in the lead role of Patrick Bateman in the film, according to Bale himself.
American Psycho is an iconic horror film that follows the story of Patrick Bateman, an investment banker who leads a parallel life as a serial killer. Based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, the 2000 film critiqued male values prevalent in society and presented a darkly comic satire of societal values.
Due to the film’s shocking depiction of violence, it quickly became controversial and opened to mixed reviews. However, over the years, it became an iconic film in pop culture and developed a cult following. It is also largely credited for launching Bale into stardom.
But Bale was never the first choice for playing Patrick Bateman. Previous reports have revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio was one of the lead contenders for the role. However, Hannon had made up her mind to cast Bale.
In a recent interview with GQ, Bale opened up about his struggle to attain the role of Bateman in the film. He revealed that he accepted the “absolute minimum” payment in order to play the part in the film.
Though Bale had performed well in various roles as a child and young adult actor prior to American Psycho, he said that only Hannon wanted him in American Psycho. Finally, Bale’s acceptance of the absolute minimum payment sealed the deal for him.
Read his entire statement below –
“Well, in honesty, the first thing was that I’d taken so long trying to do it, and they had paid me the absolute minimum they were legally allowed to pay me…I remember one time sitting in the makeup trailer and the makeup artists were laughing at me because I was getting paid less than any of them. [The low pay] was the nature of me in it. Nobody wanted me to do it except the director. So they said they would only make it if they could pay me that amount. I was prepping for it when other people were playing the part. I was still prepping for it. And, you know, it moved on. I lost my mind. But I won it back.”
It’s not surprising that many were doubtful about Bale’s casting in American Psycho as back then he was relatively unknown compared to the 90s heartthrob DiCaprio. But Bale’s performance ended up being one of the key reasons behind the film’s long-term success and cult status.
Bale was the perfect choice for playing Bateman, as Hannon’s adaptation focused on bringing a complicated, dark character to life while also balancing the film’s dark humor and its status as a thriller.
Bale’s unique skills managed to bring Hannon’s vision for the character to life which enabled the film to stress on its status as a satire rather than becoming a psychological drama. Casting an actor like DiCaprio would not only hamper the film’s satirical side, but it would also run the risk of feeding into Bateman’s self-aggrandizing tendencies, when the whole point was to satirize them.
As we now know, Bale fighting for the role paid off well for him, launching him into stardom. It also proved his mettle in playing dark, layered and nuanced roles, and landed him several projects that contributed to his rise, such as The Machinist, The Prestige and The Dark Knight Trilogy.
Bale will always be remembered for playing one of the most iconic film characters from the 2000s, and his performance will continue to live on through pop culture, memes, references and other mediums, proving Hannon was right to fight for Bale’s casting.
About American Psycho
American Psycho is a 2000 horror film directed by Mary Harron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. Based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel American Psycho, it stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a New York City investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer.
Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon appear in supporting roles. The film blends horror and black comedy to satirize 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism, exemplified by Bateman.
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