Summary American Psycho (2000) co-star Chloë Sevigny found the process of working with Christian Bale to be "challenging." Co-star Josh Lucas thought Bale was a "terrible" actor initially, but eventually realized the brilliance of the future Oscar winner's performance as the Oliver Peoples-wearing yuppie, Patrick Bateman. Director Mary Harron deserves Academy Award-worthy recognition for adapting Bret Easton Ellis' novel into an unforgettable movie.
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..." Die-hard fans of author Bret Easton Ellis' novel American Psycho know those famous words were "scrawled in blood-red lettering on the side of the Chemical Bank." In director Mary Harron's big-screen adaptation of the 1991 book, Christian Bale was cast and played the serial-killing yuppie. Today, Bale is an Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actor -- The Fighter), but when they were filming the 2000 movie together, co-star Chloë Sevigny found it challenging to work with Bale. Sevigny said in a new interview with Vanity Fair:
"I was trying to respect his process, which I found challenging because I'm very gregarious and silly and goofy, unbeknownst to the general public. When people take themselves so seriously, I kind of shut down, even though I take my work very seriously, and I love acting and whatnot. I was really intimidated by his process and intimidated by him, and I wanted a little more generosity to make myself feel more at ease, which is my own ego."
American Psycho RCrimeDocumentaryDramaThriller Release Date April 13, 2000 Director Mary Harron Cast Christian Bale , Justin Theroux , Josh Lucas , Bill Sage , Chloe Sevigny , Reese Witherspoon Runtime 102 Writers Bret Easton Ellis , Mary Harron , Guinevere Turner Studio Lion's Gate Films Tagline Killer looks. Expand
Sevigny portrayed, as Patrick calls her in the novel: "My secretary who is in love with me," aka Jean. Meanwhile, another American Psycho co-star, Josh Lucas, also weighed in on what it was like to work with a young Mr. Bale nearly 25 years ago. And, believe it or not, Lucas thought very poorly of Bale's performance in the beginning.
Josh Lucas Once Thought 'Christian Bale Was Terrible' at Acting Close
American Psycho is unquestionably one of the most nihilistic films ever made, but it continues to resonate with fans even over two decades after its theatrical release. Viewers obviously enjoy seeing Patrick Bateman (Bale) working Wall Street by day and "killing time" by night, because the horror flick's Rotten Tomatoes audience score remains a solid 85%. However, when Josh Lucas first saw Bale's performance as the Oliver Peoples-wearing psychopath in action, the movie's co-star thought Bale was "terrible." Lucas said in the same interview with VF:
"I actually truly remember thinking that Christian Bale was terrible [laughs]. I remember the first scene I did with him. I watched him, and he seemed so false. That was an actor who was at such a completely different level already, and that he was capable of having these crazy layers going on in what he was doing. I thought it was bogus acting at the time, but was exactly the opposite."
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Lucas portrayed one of Bateman's friends and work colleagues, Craig McDermott, who is also employed by Pierce & Pierce in the film. And now, Lucas can truly appreciate both the nuanced and over-the-top performances Bale gave as Batman back in 2000. But if anyone outside of Bale deserved an Oscar for American Psycho, it was director Mary Harron. Along with Guinevere Turner, the two women adapted Bret Easton Ellis' novelization into an unforgettable screenplay -- and Bale gives an Academy Award-worthy performance.
American Psycho is available to stream on Peacock, at the time of this writing.
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