10 Actors Who Were Almost Fired From Famous Roles

6. Christian Bale Was Hired, Fired & Then Re-Hired When Leonardo DiCaprio Vied For His American Psycho Role

When Lionsgate started production on the adaptation of controversial novel American Psycho, director Mary Harron decided that her perfect Patrick Bateman would be Christian Bale, who she immediately hired.

Lionsgate weren't convinced, however, and so when the project stalled for a year they decided to aim for a bigger actor. Namely, one Leonardo DiCaprio, who - fresh off of Titanic - was considered to be, like, huge. Leo was game for the role, but asked for $21 million, and Harron thought he was both too boyish and thus wrong for the part.

Not all that eager to work with Harron, though, Leo essentially said, "Okay, we'll get another director to do it," and brought in Oliver Stone. Fortunately, the project stalled and both DiCaprio and Stone moved onto other things, allowing Bale - who had been patiently waiting in the wings - and Harron to return to the project.

Having once jettisoned the poor guy, Lionsgate re-hired Bale and the rest is history; given how perfect he is in the role, it's a good thing the studio came crawling back.