Johnny Depp has proven his great talent in a variety of different roles. Not least in gruesome, morbid films like Edward Scissorhands. He still canceled one of the best horror films of the last 25 years. And helped it become a milestone. It’s about American Psycho.
Johnny Depp completely changed the horror masterpiece
As Slashfilm reports, Depp was the first choice to play Wall Street serial killer Patrick Bateman. Due to delays in the production process But he withdrew from the project again.
And that’s a good thing. Because Christian Bale’s performance as Bateman is unique. He brings a perfect, inhuman cold into the role. Even in Depp’s darkest performances, such as the devil-worshipper Corso (The Nine Gates) or the murderous barber Sweeney Todd, there is a playful emotionality that would have made Bateman a completely different character.
Bale’s interpretation of the role is also not without humor: with exaggerated facial expressions and large gestures, his Bateman has clownish traits at times. But in the context of bloody violence, this distortion does not seem approachable or even darkly romantic, but rather grotesque. As if a demon was hiding behind the wide grin of a human mask. The interplay of brutality and slapstick is what gave the character its cult status in film history.
Director Mary Harron had Bale in mind for the role from the start. Concerns from the studio meant that other casting suggestions were forced on her in the meantime. But even Leonardo DiCaprio rejected the offer in horror. It is thanks to many lucky coincidences that the filmmaker was able to realize her vision in the end. Johnny Depp’s rejection is one of them.
This article was first published in a similar form on Moviepilot in May 2022.