How can people keep track of which celebrities are beefing nowadays? Feuds between stars often arise for various reasons, whether they were involved in infidelity scandals with the other person's significant other or were just plain rude on-set with both the crew and cast. Actors can also develop a rivalry in competition for sought-after roles in the film industry.
Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio are two decorated actors with a history of taking their roles multiple steps beyond normal. Bale tends to lose or gain exponential amounts of weight in preparation for a film, like his 62-pound weight loss process for The Machinist. On the other hand, DiCaprio took weird to the next level when he slept in an animal carcass and ate raw bison for The Revenant. Surprisingly, Bale and DiCaprio weren't in a competition to see who was stranger but for film roles.
Both Bale and DiCaprio became involved in the acting industry at a young age. After a minor role in the 1986 film Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, the film's star, Amy Irving, was married to Stephen Spielberg and recommended 13-year-old Bale for Empire of the Sun. DiCaprio came up a bit later in the game than Bale but received a lead role alongside Robert De Niro at only 19 years old in the 1993 film This Boy's Life. This Boy's Life was the beginning of Bale's one-sided competition with DiCaprio.
Bale's former publicist Harrison Cheung published a tell-all book titled Christian Bale: The Inside Story Of The Darkest Batman in 2012. In the book, Cheung recalled how DiCaprio's name burned Bale like a "branding iron." This Boy's Life was when Bale began losing roles to DiCaprio. This trend continued throughout the 1990s. Bale also lost the role of Arnie Grape to DiCaprio in the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape? DiCaprio chose to star in the film alongside Johnny Depp -- for which DiCaprio was nominated for his first Oscar -- instead of taking the lead role in Hocus Pocus.
DiCaprio and Bale almost had the chance to star opposite each other in the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet. Bale read for the part of Mercutio, but the production crew decided to go with an African-American actor for the role instead. While DiCaprio's career began in the early 1990s, his life was forever changed following the popularity of James Cameron's 1997 historical epic Titanic.
Multiple actors from different levels of fame were considered for the role of Jack Dawson -- including Bale. While Claire Danes almost starred, they decided on British actress Kate Winslet as Jack's love interest Rose DeWitt Bukater. Cameron didn't want two British leads for the film, so he sent Bale away. Finally, Bale one-upped DiCaprio when he received the lead role for the 2000 film American Psycho -- which DiCaprio had expressed interest in.
Both Bale and DiCaprio eventually developed established careers in the film industry. DiCaprio just launched into stardom a bit earlier for Titanic. Bale got his chance at fame when he gave a spectacular performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. As for future roles, Bale will play Gorr the God Butcher in the upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder -- which will be released on July 8.
Bale and DiCaprio have never starred in a film together, but DiCaprio was the executive producer of Ridley Scott's Out of the Furnace, which Bale starred in. While Bale and DiCaprio's one-sided rivalry dates back decades, it's unclear if any animosity continues today.
