‘American Psycho' casting director slams Austin Butler playing Patrick Bateman for a wild reason
Kerry Barden, the casting director for 'American Psycho,' recently told The Hollywood Reporter he thinks Austin Butler is too beautiful for his rumored role as Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino's upcoming adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel.
9 Kerry Barden at a SAG-AFTRA Foundation event for casting in LA in Feb. 2025.
Getty Images
Instead of playing Bateman, Butler, 33, would be better suited as Jared Leto's character Paul Allen, Barden said.
'I would cast Austin in Jared's role because he's that beautiful, and that's why we cast Jared, is because he's that beautiful,' Barden told the outlet.
9 Austin Butler at Paris Fashion Week on March 11, 2025.
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9 Christian Bale in 'American Psycho' in 2000.
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
'Jared is certainly a great actor as well, and obviously, Austin has a lot of depth as an actor, too,' he continued. 'But not every person has that kind of beauty.'
Christian Bale played the iconic investment banker-turned-serial killer in the 2000 film directed by Mary Harron and also starring Leto, Willem Dafoe, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux and Reese Witherspoon.
9 Christian Bale in 'American Psycho.'
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
9 Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman.
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
In Dec., Variety reported that Butler was officially cast in the lead role in the new 'American Psycho' film.
The project is said to be a new adaptation of the novel and not a remake of Harron's movie.
Butler — who infamously did method acting for his Oscar-nominated role as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 biopic — has yet to confirm the news of his casting.
9 Austin Butler at the 'Dune: Part Two' red carpet premiere in Mexico City in Feb. 2024.
Getty Images
According to Variety, Jacob Elordi was rumored to be in the mix to play Bateman. Ironically, Elordi, 27, also played Elvis in Sofia Coppola's 'Priscilla' movie.
Guadagnino, 53, teased his 'American Psycho' adaptation at CinemaCon earlier this month.
'We are really working hard to bring to the screen a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' 'American Psycho,' a book that I deeply love that is something that influenced me so much,' the 'Queer' and 'Challengers' director said.
9 Luca Guadagnino at the 'Che Tempo Che Fa' TV show in Milan, Italy on April 13.
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9 Austin Butler arrives at 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in Feb. 2024.
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He also shared that Scott Z. Burns' script 'is coming out very handsomely' and that he's in 'conversation with very exciting performers to play the leads.'
Matt Ross, who appeared in the original film as one of Bateman's co-workers, weighed in on the new movie while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter.
9 Christian Bale in 'American Psycho.'
©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
'I think they have their work cut out for them, for no other reason than Christian's performance is exceptional,' he said.
Meanwhile, producer Chris Hanley told THR: 'Everybody's calling me, going like, 'How stupid to make ['American Psycho']. I'm not like that. Luca is a great director. He's never made a bad movie.'
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