American Psycho at 25: My Interview with Director Mary Harron in Salon
“We both got fired off the movie, and I put a lot on the line for casting him, and I remember thinking before we started shooting, “God, I hope I’m right about this.” It was a big leap, but really from the moment we first talked about it I could see that, as with Guinevere, that we had the same sense of humor about it, that he thought it was funny.
I had met with a number of young actors who thought Bateman was cool. No, no, no, he’s dorky. He’s absurd. I wanted an actor who could see the ridiculousness of it and could have a distance from it.”
— Director Mary Harron on her enduring faith that Christian Bale was the right actor for the protagonist Patrick Bateman. The role launched Bale’s career as an adult performer. He would win an Oscar 5 years later.