Chloë Sevigny admitted she was highly uncomfortable while working with Christian Bale in the epic film, “American Psycho.”
The famous actress spoke candidly with Josh Lucas during a recent interview with Vanity Fair and said she wasn’t able to understand or connect with the way Bale approached his role. “I was really intimidated by his process and intimidated by him, and I wanted a little more generosity to make myself feel more at ease, which is my own ego,” she said. “It’s kind of surprising that Christian would be emotionally invested the way he is, because he was a child actor.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 14: Christian Bale arrives at “The Pale Blue Eye” Los Angeles Premiere at DGA Theater Complex on December 14, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/WireImage) Getty Images
VENICE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 01: Chloe Sevigny attends the ‘Lean On Pete’ photocall during the 74th Venice Film Festival at Sala Casino on September 1, 2017 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Sevigny and Lucas discussed the way Bale threw himself into the scenes with his method acting approach, and isolated himself on every level as he lived as his character in an intense way.
The famous actress admitted this was a challenging environment for her and she struggled to adapt.
“I was trying to respect his process, which I found challenging because I’m very gregarious and silly and goofy, unbeknownst to the general public,” she noted.
“When people take themselves so seriously, I kind of shut down, even though I take my work very seriously and I love acting and whatnot,” Sevigny told Vanity Fair.
She explained how Bale’s actions and approach to the role impacted her experience on-set.
“It was a really challenging dynamic for me, but I don’t think that I thought he was bad. I was just kind of confused, like, ‘Why aren’t you being social?'” she said, as she noted his seriousness and self-isolation.
“I wasn’t even that aware of what the Method thing was. I never had any formal training; I think I was just kind of ‘fake it until you make it.’ But the whole Method thing, I was like, What even is this approach? It was very intimidating,” Sevigny told Vanity Fair.
Sevigny added that she was taken aback by Bale’s approach because it was quite unexpected. (RELATED: Famous Actor Brian Cox Reveals He Told Meryl Streep To Her Face He ‘Never Liked’ Her. The Reason Isn’t What You Think)
“It’s not like he studied in college and then became this Method-y, Brando-y kind of thing. He found this journey from being a child actor to then an adult actor that I think is a really interesting trajectory, and I’m curious about that,” she said.
“American Psycho” went on to become a cult classic and left a deep impression on pop culture as a whole.
