True ‘American Psycho’: The Actor Patrick Bateman Was Inspired By
Christian Bale did an exceptional job portraying the character, taking inspiration from an unexpected source.
The 2000 film American Psycho, starring Christian Bale as the titular lunatic Patrick Bateman, has experienced a huge surge in popularity in recent years, seemingly out of nowhere.
There have been a number of different essays exploring the reasons behind this, but regardless, the fact that a movie more than twenty years old has become a modern cultural phenomenon is quite curious.
The story behind the film is also fascinating, as there is a long list of actors who were initially offered the role in an adaptation of the highly controversial novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Ewan McGregor, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and several others all turned down the offer until the creators settled on the then relatively unknown actor Christian Bale.
He did a brilliant job portraying the soulless yuppie, impressing everyone after intensive preparation for the role. And one of the sources of inspiration was... Tom Cruise, whose appearance on Letterman's US talk show in 1999 influenced Bale's vision of the character.
Tom's strange behavior and "very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes" impressed the actor, which he used to better portray the man with hardly any human emotions, hiding them behind a social "mask."
Tom Cruise has always been perceived as a bit of a weirdo, and although his public persona has evolved since then, many still remember the "old" quirky Tom.
Some fans even believe that he has become a summation of all the personalities he has portrayed over the decades, and just like with Patrick Bateman, "there is an idea of Tom, but no real him anymore."
None of this, however, diminishes (and perhaps even proves) his brilliant acting talent and insane dedication to his roles. Cruise has given us countless memorable performances over the years and has become an action icon known for doing most of his own stunts, so who are we to judge him?
Everyone has their flaws, and despite the occasional controversial statement, Tom has been pretty harmless, at least so far.
Sources: The Independent, Reddit