He is the villain protagonist and unreliable narrator of Ellis's 1991 novel American Psycho and is played by Christian Bale in the 2000 film adaptation of the same name.
Bateman is a wealthy and materialistic yuppie and Wall Street investment banker who, supposedly, leads a secret life as a serial killer.
Memes featuring Bateman's iconic quotes, facial expressions, and memorable scenes have proliferated across various online communities, further cementing his status as a cultural touchstone.
In his secret life, Bateman is, or hallucinates to be, a serial killer, murdering a variety of people, including colleagues, the homeless, and prostitutes.
His father, who first appeared in Ellis's preceding novel The Rules of Attraction, grew up on an estate in Connecticut, and now owns an apartment in the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan.
[15][11][12] As written by Ellis, Bateman is the ultimate stereotype of yuppie greed; wealthy, conceited, and addicted to sex, drugs, and conspicuous consumption.
[16] While Bateman delights in obsessively detailing virtually every single feature of his wealthy lifestyle, including his designer clothes, workout routine, business cards, alcoholic drinks, elaborate high-end stereo and home theater sound system, he cannot recognize his own friends, work colleagues, or acquaintances.
His friends mock him as the "boy next door", his own lawyer refers to him as a "bloody ass-kisser... a brown-nosing goody-goody", and he is often dismissed as "yuppie trash" by people outside his social circle.
But somewhere under everything you see, no matter how implausible it seems, real murders in some form are taking place.”[17] In the ending climax of the story, Bateman calls his lawyer and leaves a lengthy, detailed message confessing all of his crimes.
[18] Although Bateman often claims that he is devoid of emotion, he also describes experiencing moments of extreme rage, panic or grief—being on the "verge of tears"—often over trivial inconveniences such as remembering to return videotapes or trying to obtain dinner reservations.
He publicly espouses a philosophy of tolerance, equality, and "traditional moral values" because he thinks it will make him more likable, but is actually virulently racist, homophobic, and antisemitic.
He buys the most fashionable, expensive clothing and accessories possible, including Salvatore Ferragamo, Alan Flusser and Valentino suits, Oliver Peoples glasses and Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton, and Bottega Veneta leather goods, as a means of effecting some "control" over his otherwise chaotic life.
Periodically, he matter-of-factly confesses his crimes and/or fantasies to his friends, co-workers, and even complete strangers ("I like to dissect girls, did you know I'm utterly insane?")
[17] Bateman made his first appearance in Ellis's 1987 novel The Rules of Attraction (in which Sean, his brother, is the protagonist); no indication is given that he is a serial killer.
Bateman also makes a short appearance in Ellis's 1998 novel Glamorama, with "strange stains" on the lapel of his Armani suit.
Leonardo DiCaprio was set to play the character, but Ellis (as explained in the American Psycho DVD) decided he would appear too young, especially immediately after Titanic.
Ellis refused, stating that he "thought it was such a terrible and gimmicky idea", and Avary eventually shot the scenes with Casper Van Dien.
[27] Metalcore band Ice Nine Kills released a single titled "Hip to Be Scared" based upon the film adaptation for their album The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood.
[31] In October 2024, the film was revealed to be a new adaptation of Ellis' novel to be directed by Luca Guadagnino from a script by Scott Z. Burns, with Austin Butler cast as Bateman in December.