Washington, July 21 (ANI): Actor Christian Bale was so desperate to play the lead role in 'American Psycho' that he took to warning off actors interested in the part, including Ewan McGregor, after main rival Leonardo DiCaprio dropped out of the competition.

The Brit, who portrays Batman in 'The Dark Knight', says that he was overjoyed when DiCaprio dropped out of the running for American Psycho.

I had to make a decision either to accept I wasn't going to get the part because Leo was a much bigger star or do battle, Contactmusic quoted him as telling British newspaper The People.

I kept saying I was going to play the lead and people wondered if I was losing my mind. It reached the point where the film studio said about me, 'Don't mention his name again.'

But when Leo dropped out, the film company said, 'Let's call that crazy guy who keeps telling everyone he can play the lead.' I even warned other actors off - including Ewan MCGregor. I was not going to be bullied out of the part - I was going to stand up for myself and fight, he added. (ANI)