American Psycho remains a staple of cult-classic fandom more than two decades after its release in 2000. Christian Bale’s delivery of Patrick Bateman, a psychopathic New York investment banker who’d rather delve into his deepest and darkest desires than watch the stock market, was iconic and a performance that ascended his profile into the mainstream.
Directed by Mary Harron and starring the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, and Justin Theroux, American Psycho was adapted from a novel of the same name and written by Bret Easton Ellis, and published in 1991.
So, how old was Bale when he played the sadistic mergers and acquisitions executive working for Pierce & Pierce?
The Oscar-winning actor was born on January 30, 1974, in Wales, and since the film was shot in 1999, Bale was 25-26 years old.
Although he was credited for around 20 acting roles before he played Bateman, Bale’s leading role in American Psycho proved to be the push his career needed. That decade, he starred in several blockbuster films, including Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, 3:10 to Yuma, The Prestige, and The Machinist. He also voiced Howl in Studio Ghibli’s beloved anime movie Howl’s Moving Castle.
And around 10 years after dropping a chainsaw onto a victim running down a stairwell, he won an Academy Award for his supporting role in 2010’s The Fighter.
Bale revealed Bateman’s age in the movie’s legendary opener
Bateman was older than Bale’s actual age at the time of filming — but only by a year or so. We learned Bateman was in his mid-20s during the movie’s famous opener, which featured the banker going through his extensive morning routine.
“I live in the American Gardens building on West 81st Street on the 11th floor,” Bateman said in a voiceover narration. “My name is Patrick Bateman. I’m 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself in a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches — I can do 1,000 now.”
After going through his facial and body routine, which included an excessive number of different cleansers, scrubs, and moisturizers, Bale dropped several lines that perfectly encapsulated the journey we were about to embark on.
“There’s an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction,” Bateman said. “But, there is no real me — only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.”