# The 2000 role that would have been “very bad for everyone involved” if Leonardo DiCaprio played it

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-2000-role-that-would-have-been-very-bad-for-everyone-involved-if-leonardo-dicaprio-played-it/
- Published: 2026-11-08T16:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-08T17:42:05+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/role-would-have-been-bad-for-everyone-leonardo-dicaprio-played-it/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Harron opposed casting DiCaprio in *American Psycho*.
- She believed his fame would inflate the budget and distort the film.
- Bale ultimately played Bateman after Harron was rehired.

## Summary

Leonardo DiCaprio was announced in 1998 as the lead in *American Psycho*, despite director Mary Harron’s opposition. She insisted that Christian Bale was right for Patrick Bateman and refused to make the film with DiCaprio, a dispute that led to her dismissal before she was eventually rehired.

Harron argued that DiCaprio’s star status after *Titanic* would have raised the budget and made audiences’ expectations harder to manage. She also thought he was too young and would be miscast, risking a film that felt offensive rather than disturbing. The expensive version collapsed, and Bale remained attached, preparing for the role for nine months.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.