The way Christian Bale brought Patrick Bateman to life easily made him one of the most iconic characters of all time. Bale’s talent has been appreciated throughout the world and he has risen to become a great name in the Hollywood industry. His work has often been termed a masterpiece and American Psycho was a part of his biggest achievements.
Even though the role is in his name, it almost wasn’t. The role had slipped from Bale’s hand and there was a possibility that when we think of Patrick Bateman, it would not have been his face that appeared. A lot of actors were potentially set to play the iconic role and the Dark Knight was even fired from the role once.
Christian Bale Got Back The Role Of Patrick Bateman After Being Fired
No matter how successful one is, their career may not always go smoothly. Ups and downs are inevitable and that was the same case in Christian Bale‘s life. Before he got the role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, the actor was going through a rough patch. In fact, the actor wasn’t even the first choice for the role. It was instead Leonardo DiCaprio who was set to play the iconic character.
DiCaprio was supposed to play the character, however, his schedule was right initially, allowing Bale to then take the role. Much to his dismay, the Django Unchained actor became free last minute. Even though he had the role with him, DiCaprio was chosen once again to play Patrick Bateman and Christian Bale had to take the backseat. However, his dedication to the role had been unmatched as he kept preparing for the role. He continuously went to the gym and did not let his loss affect him in any way despite not having the role.
Christian Bale Became Patrick Bateman Again
This back and forth of Patrick Bateman’s role did not end as Leonardo DiCaprio had to say no to the role once more and Christian Bale was set to play the character. Whether it was the actor’s instinct or not, he was able to take on the role just as quickly because of still in shape.
“I’m English, so I never go to a gym, but for that role, it was part of the whole deal that I had to go. I still kept going down to the gym every day because I was going, ‘Oh, I’m making the film.'”
Leonardo DiCaprio was unable to film American Psycho and it ended up becoming one of Christian Bale’s most iconic roles to date. DiCaprio’s exit was filled with rumors about him not taking the role because of the impact it would have on his audience which was much younger for the movie.
Source: The Things
