Christian Bale says he owes his career to Leonardo DiCaprio passing on roles: 'Thank you, Leo'

“It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you.

It doesn’t matter how friendly you are with the directors.

“And good for him, he’s phenomenal.”

Christian Bale called Leonardo DiCaprio a ‘magnificent’ actor.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Do you know how grateful I am to get any damn thing?

I mean, I can’t do what he does,” Bale shared.

“And he does it magnificently.

Christian Bale in ‘American Psycho’.Everett Collection

Although, as Bale recalled, becoming Bateman came with its own financial caveats.

“They had paid me the absolute minimum they were legally allowed to pay me,” he said.

“They said they would only make it if they could pay me that amount,” Bale explained.

“I was prepping for it when other people were playing the part.

I was still prepping for it.

And, you know, it moved on.

I lost my mind.

But I won it back.”

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