A new picture of Christian Bale emerges in a just-released biography by his former publicist and assistant, Harrison Cheung. Christian Bale: The Inside Story of the Darkest Batman, published May 29 on BenBella, reveals an actor who fought desperately to emerge from the world of independent British cinema into a complex, often incorrigible but above-all, ambitious global superstar.
HuffPost Entertainment read the book and found the following 14 details to be of particular interest. Some of these tidbits were previously covered in the media, but others -- like which of his characters he most identifies with -- appear to be new information. Before reading, consider one important note: Cheung once worked for the "Dark Knight Rises" star and no longer does. The following items are all taken from a book that is written from the former publicist's point of view. Cheung writes in the book that he was never actually paid for his years of service, so their relationship was certainly not uncomplicated.
We've reached out to Bale's representative for comment and will update the post as soon as we receive word.
1. Edward Norton, Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt all passed on the role of Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho." Though there was a great deal of negative buzz surrounding the picture (which changed directors as well), Bale felt the film could help him break into America. "I don't want to be a movie star," Bale told Cheung. "I want to be an actor. All this talk of career suicide ... I rather like that I'm running contrary to what everyone expects."
But Leonardo DiCaprio wanted the role. Lionsgate issued a press release during Cannes in 1998, announcing that Bale had been replaced. Bale was livid: "Losing this role is like having a pencil shoved through my brain." The studio offered him a supporting role, but Bale refused to consider that. DiCaprio eventually bailed after Gloria Steinem urged him not to take the role, which she said could inspire copycat murders from within his teen fan base.
The role then went to Ewan McGregor, who had just been screwed out of his lead part in "The Beach" by the newly landed DiCaprio. Bale begged McGregor not to take it, and the latter passed.
TO READ MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/christian-bale-biography-batman-titanic_n_1557666.html
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