10 Craziest Reasons Actors Were Rejected For Movie Roles
6. Author Thinks Johnny Depp Is "A Lightweight Actor" - American Psycho
Before we were gifted one of the most captivating and unsettling turns ever committed to the big screen in Christian Bale's mesmerising Patrick Bateman, the movie adaptation of American Psycho hit a number of pre-production speed bumps.
Before Mary Harron would be brought on, let go, and eventually called back in later down the line, Stuart Gordon of Re-Animator fame fancied a stab at Bret Easton Ellis' novel, eyeing up Johnny Depp for the part of Bateman. However, the author instantly dismissed the idea of Gordon helming the picture with Depp in the lead, aiming particularly harsh critique at the eventual Captain Jack.
As Gordon remembered around the time:
"... what really infuriated me was that he also put down Johnny Depp, calling him a lightweight actor who was too old to play the part."
Classing the star who'd just captivated the globe in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands as "lightweight" seems like a bit of a harsh stretch, it has to be said. But Easton Ellis' negativity towards both the director and his star can't have helped either blokes' cause in pursuing the hot property, with Gordon being passed up on in favour of David Cronenberg before Harron stepped up to the plate.