How old was Christian Bale in ‘American Psycho’?
Christian Bale has built a reputation for playing extreme and often dark characters, with an impressive range that lends itself to the more disturbing end of the human spectrum. Whether it be his portrayal of the brooding Bruce Wayne, corporate culture in The Big Short or a crazed insomniac in The Machinist, he has carved out a unique career path through his ability to hone into emotionally intense characters and find the fractured humanity within them, often articulating repressed qualities that draw out their vulnerability. However, despite forging a strong partnership with directors like Christopher Nolan and David O. Russel, he is still most revered for one performance in particular, which prompted a new level of fame for the actor.
American Psycho is one of the most influential films of the 21st century, with a razor-sharp script that contrasts the heightened ego of one man with his crippling fear of being average and consumed by corporate culture as a whole. Directed by Mary Harron in 2000, the film follows a New York investment banker who hides his psychopathic alter ego from the people around him and becomes obsessed with his murderous fantasies and desires.
Bale portrays him as both cold and wildly temperamental. He maintains a stony illusion of cool that is regularly disturbed by his barely-contained anger at being seemingly emasculated by his colleagues, whether it be through their obtaining an objectively better business card or through dating a girl he also likes. Everything is a threat to Patrick Bateman, and he thinks of everyone at work as being less than him despite feeling emasculated by their presence and constantly trying to prove his value.
The film has been interpreted in many different ways, with some seeing it as a critique of masculinity and some seeing it as a commentary on the toxicity of workplace culture and capitalism in general, stripping people of their identity and leading this man to believe that being a serial killer is more interesting than being completely unknown, desperate to maintain a sense of individuality, even if extremely warped.
So, how old was Christian Bale in American Psycho?
However, while Bale seems perfect for the role, his casting came after a tumultuous pre-production period in which Oliver Stone was initially attached as director with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. Ultimately, it is hard to imagine the directorial role in the hands of a male director, as Harron shows the character through a perfectly satirical and empathetic lens that both mocks and pities him, with few men being able to objectively view/critique men in the same way as women.
Bale was just 26 when they began filming the project, which put him on an upward trajectory fairly early in his career. Despite the film’s initially lukewarm reception, his performance is now regarded as one of the greatest of all time.
How old was Christian Bale when he made his first movie?
Bale started out in the industry at a very young age, with the actor booking a role in Steven Spielberg’s 1987 film Empire of the Sun at the age of 13. After this, he didn’t find breakout success until his performance in American Psycho.
The actor took on a number of supporting and leading roles before gaining widespread recognition for his portrayal of the crazed serial killer. During the time in between, he starred in films like Little Women, Velvet Goldmine and Swing Kids.
