20 Times Actors Bet Against Hollywood (And WON)

9. Christian Bale - American Psycho

When Bret Easton Ellis' controversial horror novel American Psycho was being developed into a film by Lionsgate, director Mary Harron was adamant that Christian Bale was the best man for the job, and an initially uninterested Bale became committed to playing the role after reading the script. Unfortunately, Lionsgate did not want Bale at all. They wanted Leonardo DiCaprio, a far-more established star. 

Harron argued against this, feeling (not unreasonably) that DiCaprio was too boyish for the role and that his young female fanbase would work against him. She was unwilling to make the movie without Bale and left when Lionsgate overruled her to cast DiCaprio, with Oliver Stone boarding in her place. 

Still, pre-production continued to be shaky and Bale was confident that DiCaprio would eventually jump ship, so much so that he turned down many other roles so that he'd be free for this. This was risky behaviour but yes - DiCaprio did ultimately leave and Mary Harron was rehired. She was still committed to Bale as Bateman and after several other actors turned the movie down, Lionsgate finally gave in and conceded the role to Bale, giving him a small salary of $50,000. 

Well, Lionsgate look rather stupid now, don't they? Bale was amazing in the part and this remains perhaps the highlight of his career. American Psycho itself isn't a great movie, but Bale's performance alone makes it worth seeing, and it's still maddening that he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for this.