Christian Bale is easily one of the most popular Hollywood stars of all time. He is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bale is also known for his Chamelion-like quality of bleeding into any character and changing his appearance.
However, the ‘Batman Begins‘ actor feels that the whole of Hollywood owes their career to Leonardo DiCaprio. Both are established names in the business, but Bale still thinks that way. Let’s find out the reason why the 48-year-old actor said such a thing.
Christian Bale Thinks The Hollywood Owes Their Career To Leonardo DiCaprio
Bale is known for his versatility and physical transformations in his roles in all genres of films. He was also one of the highest-paid actors in 2014 and is the recipient of several awards.
Despite all the achievements, the ‘American Psycho‘ actor thinks that he along with most of Hollywood owes their career to Leonardo DiCaprio for passing on projects they star in.
During an interview for GQ Magazine, the 48-year-old actor was asked about rumors he lost out on five roles in the 1990s, including ‘Titanic‘ to DiCaprio. “It’s not just me. Look, to this day, any role that anybody gets, it’s only because he’s passed on it beforehand,” Bale said.
He further added, “It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you. It doesn’t matter how friendly you are with the directors. All those people that I’ve worked with multiple times, they all offered every one of those roles to him first.”
Read More: How Tom Cruise Inspired Christian Bale For ‘American Psycho’
‘American Psycho’ Was Supposed To Star DiCaprio
Bale continued, “I would suspect that almost everybody of similar age to him in Hollywood owes their careers to him passing on whatever project it is.” “So, thank you, Leo, because literally, he gets to choose everything he does. And good for him, he’s phenomenal.”
One of the films for which Bale received critical acclaim was ‘American Psycho.’ Initially, Lionsgate wanted DiCaprio to play the lead role of Patrick Bateman. Bale was then paid the “absolute minimum” fee for the film.
“Nobody wanted me to do it except the director,” he explained. “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.”
However, Bale doesn’t have ill feelings for DiCaprio. “Do you know how grateful I am to get any damn thing? I mean, I can’t do what he does,” he said. “I wouldn’t want the exposure that he has either. And he does it magnificently.”
Read More: Christian Bale Reveals How Taylor Swift Became A Part Of ‘Amsterdam’
