The casting process can be unpredictable, and Christian Bale's journey as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho had its twists and turns. Initially replaced when Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role, Bale eventually reclaimed the part and delivered a memorable performance as the iconic character.
Who was originally supposed to play Patrick Bateman?
Christian Bale: Patrick Bateman in 'American Psycho'
Johnny Depp was first tapped for the part, but he turned it down. Then, Leonardo DiCaprio was slated to play Bateman, but his management advised against it at the last minute.
Why did Leonardo DiCaprio not play Patrick Bateman?
The staple Hollywood classic, American Psycho, had the Titanic's heartthrob. However, as difficult as it might seem to envision any other actor besides Bale in the role of Patrick Bateman, DiCaprio left the project at the time due to creative differences with the makers.
Was Leonardo DiCaprio going to be Patrick Bateman?
While the main character and serial killer, Patrick Bateman, is regarded as one of Christian Bale's best performances, he wasn't always slated to star in the film. Bale was director Mary Harron's first pick, but Titanic's Leonardo DiCaprio was cast in the role instead. That is until a feminist legend changed his mind.
And Norman Bates is the type of character that has intrigued readers and viewers for years, just like Patrick Bateman. Perhaps you're familiar with the story of Norman, a lonely man who lives alone with his mother and manages the Bates Motel.
The first time we see Paul Allen — and then for the remaining time he's in the movie — he mistakenly refers to Patrick Bateman as Marcus Halberstram, who Patrick tells us also works at P&P doing the same exact thing he does. They also dress similarly and go to the same barber.
This, combined with sex, violence, drugs, and other desires of the id, is how Bateman enacts his sociopathic violence in a superficial world. Bateman's episodes of schizophrenia also shows clear signs on how he copes with being an affluent person living in a superficial world, fashioned on consumerism.
How Did Tom Cruise Inspire Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman? Yes, Tom Cruise. The death-defying, cinema-saving icon himself. In a 2009 interview that Mary Harron gave to blackbookmag.com, she said that Bale once called her and said that he had a light bulb moment.
The casting process can be unpredictable, and Christian Bale's journey as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho had its twists and turns. Initially replaced when Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role, Bale eventually reclaimed the part and delivered a memorable performance as the iconic character.
Why did people not want American Psycho to be made?
"American Psycho," Mary Harron's 2000 adaptation of the infamous Bret Easton Ellis novel, was already mired in controversy before it completed filming. Ellis' novel was so graphically violent, so loaded with misogyny, that many people thought the film version would be something close to a snuff film.
He usually hangs out with his coworkers at P&P but secretly hates most of them. Bateman kills men and women, the latter for sadistic sexual pleasure and the former because they anger him and make him feel inferior.
In 1997, Mary Harron was set to make 'American Psycho' with Christian Bale as her chosen lead, reported Cinemablend. However, the studio hesitated due to Bale's relative obscurity and considered Leonardo DiCaprio for the part.
In Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is apparently simply a psychopath. However, Bateman can be diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as Asperger's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, narcissism, and antisocial personality disorder.
It's made clear there is no "top" to Bateman. There is only becoming more successful than the previous day. Therefore, Bateman would be a Sigma in that regard. In American Psycho's first act, Bateman makes it known to his fiancée that he wishes to conform to society as best he can, unlike his other roles.
While it's true that Patrick is experiencing delusions and hallucinations, it doesn't mean that the murders are in his head. Turner blames the muddiness of the ending on the dichotomy between the fantasy world that Bateman is currently living in and the reality of the murderous situation at hand.
Patrick Bateman's casual cruelty and violent sadism are key elements of his characterization, and why he's such a cultural icon. The carnage he causes is a direct example of the American Psycho explained metaphor — violence as a stand-in for corporate greed.
Whilst most people do not have a conscious desire for murder, even sane people will have some small allure to chaos and destruction. Like Patrick Bateman, many are sick of the tedium of day to day life and crime gives us an insight into a world that goes against the order of society.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (previously known as multiple/split personality disorder). A person with this may have two, or many alternate personalities and be completely unaware of said “alters”, as we see with the character in Fight Club.
Bateman and his friends are also heavy drug users. Early in the novel, Bateman's cocaine use is largely social, but he later does more and more of the drug and his attitude towards it become increasingly aggressive. Bateman begins taking pills, too – downers like Halcion, Valium, and Xanax.
According to the Wiki article, the lawyer "mistakes him for another colleague". This is supposed to drive home the fact that although he is somewhat of a narcissist, he is unimportant to certain people around him.
At Bateman's apartment Patrick is about to kill Jean but he stops himself. Jean asks if Bateman want her to leave, he says yes because he can't control himself and might hurt Jean. After Bateman's murder spree of Elizabeth, "Christie", and some townsfolks, Jean looks around his office and finds his journal.
He displays a high functioning form of Asperger's syndrome, yet there are still symptoms present in Bateman of which even the highest functioning people with Asperger's syndrome cannot rid themselves. One of the key symptoms in Asperger's syndrome is the need for strict routine.
In American Psycho, the name Patrick Bateman is a reference to the popular character of Batman from DC comics. Also in Batman, if you look carefully you will notice Christian Bale wears a "bat" costume, which is a reference to Adam West's costume in the original Batman TV series.
