Christian Baleis one of Hollywood’s finest actors. If there’s any actor that has continued the legacies ofPaul MuniandDaniel Day-Lewisby being true acting chameleons, it’s him. With one of the most one-of-a-kind metabolisms in human history that allows him to truly take on whatever shape he needs to, from a scrawny racer inFord v Ferrarito the big gut and bald-headedDick Cheney inVice, few actors have been as shape-shifting as him.American Psychois the role that officially made him a star and forced people to take notice of him. It wasn’t just his chiseled body and empty commercialized voice that made his performance a revelation, but alsothe behavioral traits he stole from an actually not-all-that-surprising sourcethat helped him unlock Bateman from within.
American Psycho
In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. The cast is filled by the detective (Willem Dafoe), the fiance (Reese Witherspoon), the mistress (Samantha Mathis), the coworker (Jared Leto), and the secretary (Chloë Sevigny). This is a biting, wry comedy examining the elements that make a man a monster.
Who Is Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho’?
As Bateman says at the beginning ofAmerican Psycho, there is an idea of who he is, but he is simply not there. While many have tried to argue that this is meant to be read on a deeper level as insight into a once-good man who’s been fully consumed by capitalism, the reality is that it’s probably far more literal than anyone thought. If you look acrossinterviews with original book authorBret Easton Ellisand film co-writer and directorMary Harron, they attest that the book and subsequent film could only truly work when viewed as a dark satirical comedy skeweringthe fragility of the male ego in an ultra-capitalist society.
With that logic in mind, it makes more sense to view Patrick Bateman asless a human being with traditional motivations and more like someone impersonating a human being.When Bateman tries to do “normal” things like talk about important issues to think about in the current world or describe why he loves his favorite music albums, his voice slips into the default state of an “as seen on TV” sales rep as dictated by a teleprompter. So, with all that said, when Christian Bale took on this assignment and understood that he was playing a humanoid creature that can only simulate what it’s like to be truly human, who did he turn to for inspiration?Tom Cruise.
How Did Tom Cruise Inspire Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman?
Yes, Tom Cruise. Thedeath-defying, cinema-savingicon himself inspiredAmerican Psycho’s Patrick Bateman. In a 2009interview with Mary Harron, she said that Bale once called her and said that he had a light bulb moment. In trying to nail how “Martian-like” Bateman was and how he was “watching what people did and trying to work out the right way to behave,” Bale stumbled upon a conversation between Tom Cruise andDavid Letterman. Bale made note of howCruise “just had this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes,“and he was inspired by this energy.She didn’t elaborate much beyond this, but it’s still a goldmine.
Cruise has garnered a lot of respect throughout the years, being consistently touted asboth a supremely talented and versatile actorand one of the nicest,most magnetic people you could possibly be around. But that reputation has always been underlined with this unspoken acceptance that he seems… let’s just say “intense.” It’s too easy to pin this all on the couch-jumping incident and his “I am the last true movie star and I will fight for that title with my dying breath” energy. Theway he throws himself into everything he does with too much energy is a bit jarring. Remember the time he got water sprayed in his face at a red carpet event forWar of the Worldsand mercilessly chewed the prankster out by constantly asking “Why’d you do that?” all while smiling the biggest smile he could possibly muster? Or how eager he is for us to see him jumping off the top of a mountain or dangling off of a plane in midair? Yes, it’s a little… strange.
Tom Cruise and Patrick Bateman Both Want To Be the Best
With this in mind, it makes the black humor of Patrick Bateman even funnier than it already was. You start to look more closely atAmerican Psychofor Tom Cruise-shaped Easter eggs, seeing if Bateman does something that can create a direct link. The way Cruise talks on talk shows, especially when he’s going into sales rep mode, is most evident when Patrick goes on one of his signature speeches about the wonders of his mediocre taste in music. TheHuey Lewisrant has been picked apart to death and is arguably the most manic of his outbursts, but the Cruise-ian element is how unwavering he is once he gets going.
Tom Cruise Made a Blink-and-You-Miss-It Cameo in a Brat Pack Western
Tom Cruise plays a Western villain! But only for a few seconds…
Paul Allen (Jared Leto) asking if he’s wearing a raincoat does absolutely nothing to stop Bateman from preaching the wonders of conformity, or capping him with an ax, for that matter. It calls to mind the way Cruise can hold an audience under his spell, be it when he’s convincing Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) to keep him as his agent inJerry Maguire, or how he holds the attention of an entire audience of men’s rights activists when he’s lecturing them inMagnolia. Outside his music monologuing, the otherbig thing about Bateman that fits Cruise’s sensibility is summarized in his assertion, “I want to fit in.“By all accounts, Cruise’s entire life has been devoted to making himself the biggest star in the world, and doing what it takes to maintain that position.
At almost every turn, he made the right choice in shifting sets to satisfy what audiences wanted from him. He’s worked with auteur directors likeTony ScottandFrancis Ford Coppolain the ’80s, then aligned himself with theMission: Impossiblefranchise. He’s also stretched his dramatic acting muscles with films likeJerry MaguireandMagnoliain the ’90s and has committed himself to being the biggest action star in the world in the 21st century with projects likeTop Gun: Maverick. With some notable exceptions (we do not speak ofKnight and Day),Cruise has a knack for morphing into what audiences would respond to at the moment.Patrick Bateman’s whole philosophy is fitting himself into whatever the culture around him tells him is cool.
Tom Cruise Has Played Characters Similar to American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman
Although Tom Cruise has never given a performance quite like Bale’s inAmerican Psycho, you can find Bateman-esque qualities in other roles. InCollateral,he was a sociopath assassin who funneled his philosophy of life into murder. InMagnolia, he was a charismatic public speaker masking a deep-seated insecurity over his relationship with his father.Jerry Maguirefeatures him as a powerful white-collar agent questioning his sense of what’s important in his life.Cruise has the abilitytoimbue his characters with a sense of clear focus and intensitythat can communicate an undertone of rumbling anxiety and wavering conviction, much like how Bale can communicate Bateman’s progressing crumbling of self.
Tom Cruise’s Dedication to His Work Only Intensifies
American Psycho’s legacy has only grown in recent years, thanks in no small part to Christian Bale going on to have such an incredible career. The character of Patrick Bateman has beenanalyzed and misrepresented, becoming a poster boy for things he wasn’t supposed to. It feels like he has become somewhat divorced and distorted from the relatively straightforward consumerism satire from which he was born.
In a similar vein,Tom Cruise’s career also feels as if it has evolved from what he once was. Long gone are the days of him as a cocky underdog with an unexpected empathetic undercurrent, and instead we have a man who constantlyrisks his life on-screen for our pleasure. As the behavioral layers gradually peeled away to uncover Bateman’s deep existential insecurity and narcissism inAmerican Psycho, so too, did the acting layers gradually peel away to reveal Tom Cruise’s film choices and priority to please all audiences. It goes to show how far a killer work ethic and unbridled passion can take you — for better or for worse.
American Psychois available to watch on Peacock in the U.S.
Watch on Peacock
