Bateman, Carnes — Shut up, Carnes, they will not

Written by Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner, this contemporary dramatic duologue presents a climactic moment of unraveling from the film American Psycho. Patrick Bateman confronts his lawyer, Harold Carnes, seeking confirmation and acknowledgment for a gruesome confession he previously delivered over the phone. Instead of facing arrest or horror, Bateman is met with breezy disbelief and mistaken identity, resulting in a surreal confrontation where his reality collapses into dark absurdity.

Patrick Bateman is an intense young professional experiencing a profound psychological rupture. Driven by a desperate need to be seen and held accountable, he finds himself stripped of his power and dismissed as a harmless lightweight by someone who cannot even recall his true name. Harold Carnes represents the supreme detachment of their corporate social circle. Polished, smug, and thoroughly self-absorbed, Carnes treats Bateman's horrific admissions as an amusing office prank while remaining entirely focused on shallow club socializing.

This scene offers exceptional material for paired auditions, showcases, and scene-study work due to its sharp contrast in energy and objectives. One performer must navigate rising panic, intense vulnerability, and an unraveling sense of self, while the other exercises effortless comedic timing through dismissive high-status indifference. The dialogue moves quickly and relies heavily on active listening, subtext, and the tragicomic irony of a killer begging to be acknowledged.

This three-minute selection is ideally suited for drama school auditions, agent showcases, self-tape submissions, and general practice. Male performers in their twenties through forties casting for young professional, anti-hero, or corporate lawyer archetypes will find this material especially effective for displaying range across intense dramatic stakes and grounded dark comedy.

For Bateman, avoid beginning at a peak of screaming frenzy; start with guarded anticipation and let the desperation build as Carnes continually misidentifies you and laughs off your reality. The actor playing Carnes must fully commit to genuine distraction, playing the encounter like a casual cocktail-party run-in rather than suspecting any real danger. Maintaining this sharp disconnect in status and focus is what gives the exchange its biting tension and emotional punch.