Why did Christian Bale’s co-stars hate working with him?: “I was the worst actor they’d ever seen”
Although most actors try to prove their skills by taking on diverse roles throughout their careers, very few of them demonstrate the kind of versatility that Christian Bale has. Ranging from iconic roles in highly popular projects like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy to arthouse gems such as Terrence Malick’s The New World, Bale’s filmography is stacked with all kinds of unique cinematic experiences that have made him a household name.
While Steven Spielberg’s 1987 work – Empire of the Sun – is often cited as Bale’s breakthrough in the industry, it was Mary Harron’s adaptation of American Psycho that solidified his status as one of the most talented actors of his generation. Bale delivered the performance of a lifetime as Patrick Bateman, a psychopathic investment banker who embarks on a bloody journey to satiate his internal thirst for violence and death.
Despite the fact that Bret Easton Ellis thought his novel could not be adapted, American Psycho became a cultural phenomenon and is religiously watched by younger generations of film fans. The film’s critique of capitalism’s relationship with violence and the proliferation of psychoses facilitated by consumerism still resonates with modern audiences, which is why Bale’s character has also become an integral part of online meme culture.
Bale’s rendition of Patrick Bateman received a lot of praise at the time of the movie’s release, but it has only grown in stature in the years that have followed. However, in an insightful conversation with MovieMaker, the actor insisted that his co-stars actually hated him and thought that he could not act at all. While he did not know this was the case during the production process, Josh Lucas told him about it later on.
“Josh Lucas and I did a film together recently, and he opened my eyes to something that I had been unaware of,” Bale revealed. “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”.
In the oral history published by MovieMaker, Bale’s co-star Chloë Sevigny also opened up about her reservations. She noted: “Working with Christian was pretty hard because I didn’t know this whole Method thing. I was pretty fresh. I hadn’t done that many films before, and that an actor would lose himself to such a degree and was so consumed by the part, I was having a hard time kind of… just wanting to socialise with him, but feeling that he didn’t, and then my ego being like, Does he not like me? Does he think I’m a terrible actress?”
Despite the cast’s problems with Bale, his approach to the role worked because he was able to embody the internal contradictions of someone like Patrick Bateman. It also gave him the necessary experience to work on even more significant roles in the future, establishing himself as one of the most prominent names in Hollywood.
Does Christian Bale still have these issues?
In truth, Bale’s reputation had already been set by a run of tough roles that encouraged Bale to dive deep into his work. An unhelpful clip of Bale losing it with a studio runner didn’t help, but by the time he was working on American Hustle his co-stars had clearly relaxed, “It’s usually hard to meet your heroes,” Bale’s American Hustle co-star Bradley Cooper said. “There’s a fear they won’t live up to your hopes. But he far exceeded my expectations. He’s giving and natural and someone who loves to laugh.”
“I tend to stay in character between scenes, to be rather serious on set,” Bale admitted. “But here’s why, and I think people will find it surprising. I’m one of the worst ‘corpses’ on a movie set, which means you can’t keep a straight face. You start to get the giggles, and you can’t stop. I never want to step out of a scene and be objective because as soon as I do, I find it hilarious.”
So while Bale has still kept his proces sin place, it might be that his decisions to be so dedicated to his roles has waned a little with age.
