In between shooting films and pondering his retirement, Christian Bale took some time out to express his gratitude to Leonardo DiCaprio. Subtly thanking the actor for rejecting the role in American Psycho, Bale recalled the time when DiCaprio was offered roles in DC’s The Dark Knight trilogy and he almost killed Heath Ledger’s career.
Previously losing several roles to Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale thus attributed the actor’s rejection to his own capabilities. Unknowingly helping Bale to rise to his fame, DiCaprio was rumored to get the part of Riddler in the DCU. People believe, the Oscar-winning actor appearing as the supervillain in DC, might have outshined Heath Ledger’s iconic appearance as Joker.
Christian Bale Expressed Gratitude To Leonardo DiCaprio
Christian Bale has been quite proud of his work in American Psycho (2000). However, Bale believes, has it not been for Leonardo DiCaprio’s rejection, he would have never got the part. Thus, thanking the Oscar-winning actor for rejecting his role in the 2000 movie, Bale sat for an interview with GQ. Discussing his appearance in the movie and the actor went ahead to appreciate DiCaprio.
Previously losing nearly five roles to Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale was evidently thankful to him, for leaving out the American Psycho opportunity. “Look, to this day, any role that anybody gets, it’s only because he’s passed on it beforehand.” Bale shared.
“It doesn’t matter how friendly you are with the directors. All those people that I’ve worked with multiple times, they all offered every one of those roles to him first.” Christian Bale stated.
Further thanking DiCaprio with utmost honesty, Bale stated, “So, thank you, Leo, because literally, he gets to choose everything he does. And good for him, he’s phenomenal.” Considering how DiCaprio could have almost taken away the iconic supervillain spotlight from Heath Ledger, Christian Bale simply expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards the actor, for leaving out the $34.3M movie.
Leonardo DiCaprio Almost Played The Riddler
Batman has been one of the most appreciated superheroes of all time. Creating an enigmatic and philanthropic billionaire who voyages through Gotham on his nightly expedition to hunt down villains, DC created a marvelous figure. Further exploring the realm of the antagonists, DC brought iconic villains like Joker, Penguin, and even Riddler.
While playing the highly anticipated superhero and supervillain roles has been the desire of many actors, Leonardo DiCaprio was rumored to be the personal choice of Warner Bros. During an interview, writer David Goyer stated on behalf of WB, “Obviously it’s gonna be The Riddler, and we want it to be Leonardo DiCaprio”.
However, changing the entire landscape of The Dark Knight trilogy Christopher Nolan took out the character of Riddler from the script. “It won’t be the Riddler” the director shared and mentioned replacing Riddler with Joker. Expressing his desire to cast a British actor for the supervillain role beside Christian Bale as Batman, Nolan selected Heath Ledger as the infamous Joker. “Obviously I’m casting a British actor whom I’ll make unrecognizable.” Nolan stated.
Thus, by removing the role of Riddler from The Dark Knight trilogy Christopher Nolan offered lifetime fame to Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. However, if Nolan would have considered the idea of Warner Bros, Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn’t have been an outlandish choice for a supervillain.
Source: GQ, Screenrant
