It’s an interesting and surprising inspiration: Christian Bale found elements in Tom Cruise to nourish his memorable interpretation of Patrick Bateman.
Adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel, Mary Harron’s American Psycho (2000) is a timeless classic considered among the best films of all time. Starring Christian Bale – who physically transforms for the first time, the start of many – the thriller takes place in the middle of the Reagan years and follows the psychotic journey of Patrick Bateman, a misogynistic, homophobic and racist golden boy of Wall Street who hides, behind his superficial and luxurious appearance, a psychopathic personality which pushes him to commit a series of inhumane murderous acts.
When it was released in 2000, the psychological horror film enjoyed phenomenal commercial success. Combining horror and black comedy, the film is above all a satirical comedy highlighting the fragility of the male ego in the context of an ultra-capitalist society. Ultimately, as Collider reminds us, we have to think of Patrick Bateman less as a human being than as someone pretending to be a human being. When he tries to do “normal” things, his voice defaults to that of a sales rep.
American Psycho is the film that officially made Christian Bale a star. And it is not only his chiseled body and his empty and commercialized voice that made his performance a revelation, but also his behavior which he “borrowed” from a Source which may seem surprising at first glance, another actor who helped him find his inner Bateman.
Indeed, to create its emblematic humanoid creature, Christian Bale was inspired by “the intense kindness” with “nothing behind the eyes” by a certain Tom Cruise…
Common points ?
Yes, we are talking about the truth Tom Cruise, the cinema icon who defies death on every shoot. In an interview with BlackBook in 2009, Mary Harron had in fact declared that Christian Bale had called her one day and told her he had had a flash of genius. Trying to understand how bad Bateman wasMartian” and how he “watched what people did and tried to find the right way to behave”, Bale came across a conversation between Tom Cruise and David Letterman and noted that the actor “had this very intense friendship without anything behind their eyes”, and he was inspired by this energy.
Tom Cruise has garnered a lot of respect over the years, consistently being touted as both an extremely talented and versatile actor, and one of the kindest, most magnetic people you could ever be around. But that reputation has always been accompanied by a tacit acceptance: he seems “intense” – starting with the way he throws himself into everything he does with boundless energy.
Lions Gate Films
Since Christian Bale cited him as a Source of inspiration, we now can’t help but try to find similarities between the actor and the character. Patrick Bateman takes on another dimension if you start looking American Psycho looking for Easter eggs shaped like Tom Cruise ! Maybe the way he talks on talk shows, especially when he goes into “Bateman” sales rep mode? It can also be said that both the actor and the character strive to adapt and conform to society’s expectations – as demonstrated by the role choices of Tom Cruise over time.
Tom Cruise knew how to adapt to the society around him
Another trait in common: both want to “fit in”. Obviously, Tom Cruise has dedicated his career to becoming one of the biggest stars in the world and doing what it took to maintain that position.
And he made the right choices by changing the setting to satisfy what the public expected of him. He worked with filmmakers such as Tony Scott and Francis Ford Coppola in the 1980s, then devoted himself, body and soul, to the Mission: Impossible franchise. He also developed his dramatic acting game with films like Jerry Maguire and Magnolia in the ’90s and remains committed to being one of the biggest action stars today with projects like Top Gun: Maverick – and of Mission: Impossible again and again.
Although he never played a character looking exactly like Patrick Bateman, other of his roles have featured traits similar to the notorious psychopath’s personality, which may have inspired Christian Bale also.
In Magnolia (1999), he plays a charismatic orator masking deep insecurity about his relationship with his father. In Collateral (2004), he is a sociopathic assassin who has channeled his life philosophy towards murder. Jerry Maguire (1996) presents him as a powerful white-collar agent questioning what is important in life.
Paramount Pictures
Tom Cruise in “Collateral” (2004)
And then, of course, there’s Interview with the Vampire (1994), although we can attribute Lestat’s psychopathic and murderous personality to his being a lifelong vampire – but that doesn’t entirely excuse him. Facing him, Louis (Brad Pitt) chooses another path, a path that does not lead him to kill everything that moves.
At any rate, Tom Cruise charms his audience and ultimately has the gift of adapting to the times and satisfying the expectations of the moment, which recalls – in a non-psychopath way of course – Patrick Bateman’s philosophy of adapting to whatever the culture around him tells him to be “cool”.
Over the years, the actor’s dedication to his work has only intensified, as his career has evolved from what it was when he started. We’re a long way from the days when he was an outsider, and we’re now dealing with a man who constantly risks his life on screen for our pleasure – with one priority: to please all audiences.
Conversely, we can imagine that Patrick Bateman would perhaps also be inspired by Tom Cruise…
American Psycho is currently available to stream on Netflix and Prime Video.
