Five Actors Who Could Be Patrick Bateman In Luca Guadagnino’s ‘American Psycho’

Luca Guadagnino has been on a very hot streak recently having more and more projects announced whilst also delivering some of the year’s best films. Read our picks for who could play the Luca Guadagnino Patrick Bateman in the American Psycho adaptation.

Guadagnino released Challengers earlier this year, the steamy tennis love triangle film that starred Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist. His upcoming film Queer, starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, will be releasing in theaters on November 27th as well. He has also wrapped filming on another film titled After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri, and he’s about to begin production on Separate Rooms soon, which stars Josh O’Connor and Léa Seydoux. 

It’s very obvious that Luca is slowly becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest directors considering that he has been working with some big A-stars and is probably bound  to work with even more.

Yesterday it was reported by Deadline that Luca Guadagnino would be directing a new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho for Lionsgate, with Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum) penning the screenplay. It’s definite that Guadagnino’s Patrick Bateman will be different from the previous iteration we know, which was played by Christian Bale.

A theory also suggests that the character of Patrick Bateman has had a queer undertone, which would overall be perfect because Guadagnino is famously known for his queer projects. So the question remains… Who should play Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino’s American Psycho?

(The following list is in no particular order.)

5 Picks For The Luca Guadagnino Patrick Bateman

5. Barry Keoghan

Barry Keoghan as Patrick Bateman seems like a far-fetched casting choice but it’s not too far away for him to play the role if you think about it. Keoghan has been recently landing a lot of roles this decade and he’s been giving great performances in pretty much all of them! Surely the characteristics of Patrick Bateman include an attractive charismatic well-dressed man who is also a serial killer.

Keoghan’s turns as Oliver in Saltburn and the Joker in The Batman could be the perfect fit for this. What makes this even more perfect is that he was obsessed with Jacob Elordi’s Felix in Saltburn and was doing… freakishly questionable things so he could get any attention from Felix. It was like a twisted take on The Talented Mr. Ripley.

4. Jacob Elordi

The next option would be Jacob Elordi who is also coincidentally Barry Keoghan’s co-star in Saltburn, but he would also not be a bad choice for Patrick Bateman. Jacob Elordi just has that Hollywood charm to him, you look at him once and say to yourself “What a handsome man!” Jacob has also been one of the few actors who you could say are going to become the future of Hollywood’s A-listers. He’s already got around 3 upcoming projects, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada releasing later this year, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and On Swift Horses releasing the next.

Elordi would certainly give a good performance as Bateman too, as he did so wonderfully as an attractive charismatic celebrity who’s manipulative and possessive in Priscilla. Little do people know that Elordi has already worked with Luca Guadagnino on a Chanel Fragrance advertisement before, which would make this even better for them to reunite in a feature film.

3. Austin Butler

Many would think Austin Butler is a wild card casting choice for Patrick Bateman, but I think he’s actually among one of the best picks for the character. Butler has been landing bombastic roles lately and almost each one of them gives off something in relation to Bateman. Previously playing roles such as Tex in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Elvis Presley in Elvis, he would definitely be able to nail the character and could even be more in-line with Christian Bale’s version of the character.

One could argue that the announcement of Austin Butler playing Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino’s film, has the potential to break the internet, considering how popular Butler has been getting recently.

2. Timothée Chalamet

This one is no surprise to anyone, but Timothée would be one of the best choices for the role not for   his stellar performances or immediate rise to the A-list game but because of his subtle nuances. Timothée would be great for the role of Patrick Bateman as he could pull a more sneakier and cunning iteration of the character. Chalamet has proven enough how good he is at being a crazy charismatic boy, especially in Bones and All or Dune.

It’s also very important to add that he would be under Luca’s radar because he has worked with him twice before in Call Me By Your Name and Bones and All. Both films gained critical acclaim  with the former film earning Chalamet an Oscar nomination.. It’s also good to note that Timothée could be pushing for Best Actor this year for his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

1.  Robert Pattinson

The final name for now and who I think would play the perfect modern Patrick Bateman is Robert Pattinson. Has no one ever thought this as well? All you have to do is take a little peak at Robert’s face and you will whimper to yourself “That’s my Bateman.” Seriously though, everything about Robert’s filmography screams “This guy has to play Patrick Bateman.” Judging by how popular he has been getting recently and how bombastic his acting performances have been, as they get better and better by each passing film, some of them still feel different and unique in their own way due to his impeccable acting range.

Robert could easily play the attractive charismatic man who’s also a serial killer, we’re talking about the star of Good Time, The Lighthouse, The Batman, Tenet, and more. He’s easily worked with a huge amount of big Hollywood Directors and it would only be a delight to see him star next in a film directed by Luca Guadagnino.

Coincidentally, the previous Patrick Bateman iteration was played by Christian Bale, who later went on to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins. It would only be perfect enough if the Luca Guadagnino Patrick Bateman was another Batman.

Right now we don’t know when the film is aiming for release or when it could begin production, but all we can hope for is a casting announcement soon. Even though I am positive that there are many other good names who could do well as Patrick Bateman, I do for sure trust Guadagnino’s decision for who could play the role.

Thanks for reading this article about our 5 picks for the Luca Guadagnino Patrick Bateman, make sure to check out our News section.