Christian Bale's adventure to securing the lead position in American Psycho was nothing in need of a dramatic rollercoaster trip. Initially, the coveted part was offered to Leonardo DiCaprio, who surprisingly declined a massive $20 million paycheck to star in the film.
Even with DiCaprio out of the means, Bale still needed to show off different height contenders for the role, famously resorting to threats to keep The Ghost Writer star, Ewan McGregor, at bay. Before his relentless pursuit could bear fruit, Bale still had to grapple with one more disappointment; the paycheck. Here’s how, despite handing over the efficiency of an entire life as Patrick Bateman, Bale ended up with a paycheck so meager, it paled compared to what the makeup artists had been earning.
Christian Bale Had A Hard Time Landing A Role In American Psycho
Given his iconic performances in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and The Machinist, it’s now not arduous to peer why Christian Bale is broadly considered considered one of the biggest manner actors in Hollywood. However, ahead of he became known as a master of transformation, Bale, like another unfamed actor, struggled to land roles in Hollywood, and no role was harder to land than Patrick Bateman in the 2000 black comedy, American Psycho.
Though director Mary Harron’s first pick, Christian Bale faced tremendous opposition earlier than he was confirmed for the role. "I had an awful lot of calls saying it was gonna be career suicide," Bale admitted in an interview with Charlie Rose. "A lot of people would talk about Anthony Perkins in Psycho and say, you know once you play a villain like that, you never get to play anything else because you're stuck in everybody's imagination as that person."
Intent on having Titanic celebrity Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, Lionsgate was also less than enthusiastic about casting Bale. Fortunately for Bale, director Mary Harron didn’t believe DiCaprio was slightly the right fit for the position. "Leonardo wasn't remotely right [for the part]. There's something very boyish about him. He's not credible as one of these tough Wall Street guys”, Harron told The Guardian. “He brought way too much baggage with him - I did not want to deal with someone who had a 13-year-old fan base. They shouldn't see the movie. It could've gotten us in a lot of trouble."
Even after DiCaprio handed on the position, Lionsgate was still fixated on having a bigger superstar in the lead position. "We had a huge battle over it," Harron instructed The Guardian. "They would've taken almost anybody over Christian."
Did Christian Bale Really Make Less Than The Makeup Artists For American Psycho?
Despite the inconceivable odds, Christian Bale was nonetheless intent on securing the role. “Everybody around me was like, forget it! You’re getting fixated in this. And I wouldn’t,” he admitted to Entertainment Weekly. “With any other script that came in, I’d say, 'Well glance, I slightly like it however no, because American Psycho would possibly come up. I’m not risking it.' I just refused to confess that it wouldn’t happen.”
Though Bale’s decision sooner or later paid off, he had to deal with but another harsh unhappiness earlier than he may turn out to be into Bateman; the paycheck. Though in a position to cough up $20 million for Leonardo DiCaprio, Lionsgate offered Bale a paycheck so meager, it made him a laughingstock on set.
“They had paid me the absolute minimum they were legally allowed to pay me,” Bale admitted to GQ. “And I had a space that I was sharing with my dad and my sister and that was getting repossessed. So the very first thing was: 'Holy crap. I’ve were given to get slightly of money,' as a result of I’ve got American Psycho done, however I bear in mind one time sitting in the makeup trailer and the makeup artists had been guffawing at me as a result of I was getting paid less than any of them. And in order that was my motivation after that. Was simply: 'I got to get enough that the area doesn’t get repossessed.'"
Though any other actor could’ve negotiated for better pay, Bale had limited leverage, given the initial lack of interest in him for the movie. “Nobody wanted me to do it except the director,” he admitted to GQ. “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.”
American Psycho Proved A Career-Defining Role For Christian Bale
Christian Bale’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho garnered widespread acclaim, cementing his status as one of Hollywood’s most fearless method actors. Though it ultimately paid off, the American Hustle star’s commitment to the role proved too confronting for his co-stars, making him not only the most underpaid, but also the most unpopular actor on set.
"He was in order that A hundred percent dedicated as an actor to being this personality, to a disturbing point,” co-star Guinevere Turner printed to Moviemaker. “He never spoke in his real accent, and he by no means socialized with somebody whilst we were shooting."
In fact, Bale’s method acting became so unpopular, his cast mates completely lost faith in his acting abilities. "Josh Lucas and I did a film together lately, and he opened my eyes to one thing that I have been unaware of,” Bale revealed to Moviemaker. “He knowledgeable me that each one of the different actors thought that I was the worst actor they’d ever seen. He was telling me they saved having a look at me and speaking about me, pronouncing, ‘Why did Mary combat for this guy? He’s horrible.' And it wasn’t until he noticed the movie that he changed his thoughts. And I was in the dark completely about that critique."
Despite the widespread skepticism in his abilities, American Psycho proved a career-defining film for Bale. The American Hustle star’s transformative performance in the film propelled him into the spotlight, setting him up for roles in critically acclaimed films like The Machinist, The Dark Knight, and The Fighter.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiaoaqZqMGqrc1mmZqklWKurrHRopqapl2lwLqvx6hkrJmclr%2B6ecyaop6toGKus8DIrKusZZyavK%2Bt0Z2mZpyZmK6xvsioZg%3D%3D