10 Hit Movies Actors Thought Would Kill Their Careers

Christian Bale was the last person Lionsgate wanted to play Patrick Bateman. Bale was - in their eyes - an unknown compared to the likes of Johnny Depp, Edward Norton and Leonardo DiCaprio who were bankable stars they wanted to play Bateman.

However, these big names were reluctant to attach themselves to the project due to the controversial nature of the Bret Easton Ellis novel meaning director Mary Harron was left with her original choice: Christian Bale. Harron remembers "when I offered him the part he said he had all these messages on his answering machine telling him this was career suicide. And that just made him more excited. That's sort of how I reacted too."

Bale has never picked easy roles, often thriving while playing difficult and controversial roles such as Dick Cheney in 2018's Vice, and this early role in American Psycho was no exception. Not deterred by the risk of ending his career, Bale trained for three hours a day six days a week to get into peak physical shape for the narcissistic Bateman and delivered a memorising performance.

Earning a modest $34 million at the box office, American Psycho has become a cult hit over the years with its satirical take-down of Wall Street and giving a platform for Bale to demonstrate his status as one of the greatest actors working today.

While he wasn't recognised for this performance by the big awards ceremonies, he has since become one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood.