The Truth About Why Christian Bale Was Paid Less Than Makeup Artists For American Psycho
Christian Bale's journey to securing the lead role in American Psycho was nothing short of a dramatic rollercoaster ride. 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 way, Bale still had to show off other top 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 delivering the performance of a lifetime as Patrick Bateman, Bale ended up with a paycheck so meager, it paled in comparison to what the makeup artists were 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 not hard to see why Christian Bale is widely regarded as one of the greatest method actors in Hollywood. However, before he became known as a master of transformation, Bale, like any other 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 before 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 star 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 quite the right fit for the role. "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 passed on the role, Lionsgate was still fixated on having a bigger star in the lead role. "We had a huge battle over it," Harron told 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 impossible odds, Christian Bale was still intent on securing the role. “Everybody around me was like, forget it! You’re getting fixated on this. And I wouldn’t,” he admitted to Entertainment Weekly. “With any other script that came in, I’d say, 'Well look, I quite like it but no, because American Psycho might come up. I’m not risking it.' I just refused to admit that it wouldn’t happen.”
Though Bale’s determination eventually paid off, he had to contend with yet another harsh disappointment before he could transform into Bateman; the paycheck. Though able 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 house that I was sharing with my dad and my sister and that was getting repossessed. So the first thing was: 'Holy crap. I’ve got to get a bit of money,' because I’ve got American Psycho done, but 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. And so that was my motivation after that. Was just: 'I got to get enough that the house 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 just so 100 percent committed as an actor to being this character, to a disturbing point,” co-star Guinevere Turner revealed to Moviemaker. “He never spoke in his real accent, and he never socialized with anyone while 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 recently, and he opened my eyes to something that I had been unaware of,” Bale revealed to Moviemaker. “He informed me that all of the other actors thought that I was the worst actor they’d ever seen. He was telling me they kept looking at me and talking about me, saying, ‘Why did Mary fight for this guy? He’s terrible.' And it wasn’t until he saw the film that he changed his mind. 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.
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