Leonardo DiCaprio, the Secret to Success? Why Christian Bale Owes His Career to the 'Titanic' Star

Actor Christian Bale reveals that he owes his success to "Titanic" star Leonardo DiCaprio and here's why.

Christian Bale is a veteran actor known for his versatility and physical transformations for various roles, including "Batman Begins", "Thor: Love and Thunder", and more. He has won several accolades throughout his acting career, including the Saturn award for "Best Actor" in 2006 for "Batman Begins", and the People's choice awards for "Favorite Superhero" in "The Dark Knight". 

However, in a recent cover story for GQ, the 48-year-old actor addresses his alleged "rivalry" with Leonardo DiCaprio from way back in the 90s as he had reportedly lost multiple roles to the "The Wolf of Wall Street" star.

READ ALSO: Christian Bale HATES Acting? 'Batman' Star Reveals True Feelings on Playing the Lead Role

Christian Bale Owes it to Leonardo DiCaprio

Bale went on to reveal that most of his roles had been first offered to Leonardo DiCaprio before he would land them, and alleged that it was a normal occurrence for other actors in Hollywood.

"Look, to this day, any role that anybody gets, it's only because he's passed on it beforehand. It doesn't matter what anyone tells you. It doesn't matter how friendly you are with the directors. All those people that I've worked with multiple times, they all offered every one of those roles to him first." Bale said of Di Caprio. "So, thank you, Leo, because literally, he gets to choose everything he does. And good for him, he's phenomenal."

DiCaprio Almost Played Bale's Iconic 'American Psycho' Role

The alleged rivalry between DiCaprio and Bale dates back to as early as the 90s when the two would often audition for the same roles. Bale had also auditioned for the role of Jack in "Titanic", which was DiCaprio's breakthrough film.

Notably, Bale revealed that while he had landed his breakthrough role as the infamous serial killer Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho", the role was originally intended for Leonardo DiCaprio. Despite the role catapulting him into mainstream success, Bale revealed that he was offered the lowest amount following DiCaprio declining the role.

"They had paid me the absolute minimum they were legally allowed to pay me," he said. "I remember one time sitting in the makeup trailer and the makeup artists were laughing at me because I was getting paid less than any of them."

Despite the long-running "rivalry" between the two stars, Bale clarifies that he never took it personally and still holds DiCaprio in good favor.

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