"Thank you, Leo"
Academy Award winner Christian Bale joked that he only got his roles in major films because Leonardo DiCaprio passed up on them first.
In an interview with GQ, the English actor was asked about the reports that he missed out on five major movie roles to DiCaprio in the 90's.
"Look, to this day, any role that anybody gets, it’s only because he’s passed on it beforehand," Bale replied. "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. Right? I had one of those people actually tell me that."
"So, thank you, Leo," The 'Amsterdam' star added, "because literally, he gets to choose everything he does. And good for him, he’s phenomenal."
While the control of roles that DiCaprio has in Hollywood may lead to some understandable grudges, Bale doesn't take it personally. "Do you know how grateful I am to get any damn thing?" said the 48-year-old. "I mean, I can’t do what he does. I wouldn’t want the exposure that he has either. And he does it magnificently."
Bale added that he "would suspect that almost everybody of similar age to [DiCaprio] in Hollywood owes their careers to him passing on whatever project it is."
Bale recently starred as the antagonist Gorr in 'Thor: Love and Thunder'. He also stars in 'Amsterdam' alongside Margot Robbie, John David Washington and a star-studded supporting cast.
'Amsterdam' releases in Irish cinemas on Friday, October 7.