James Van Der Beek Played Patrick Bateman's Brother In This Cult Classic 2002 Movie

When James Van Der Beek died on February 11, 2026, he left behind a wide-ranging legacy in both motion picture and television. He was largely known for playing nice guys like Dawson Leery on "Dawson's Creek." But in the dark comedy "The Rules of Attraction," he plays against type as Sean Bateman, the drug-addled, emotionally vampiric brother of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) of "American Psycho" fame. 

Both characters were created by author Bret Easton Ellis, who has used Patrick repeatedly in other works he has published. Patrick made his debut in the novel version of "The Rules of Attraction," which acts as a prequel to "American Psycho." In it, he's just as successful and serious as always, but there's no hint that he's a psychotic serial killer. 

In the theatrical cut of the film version of "The Rules of Attraction," Patrick never shows up onscreen, though he's briefly referred to — meaning the two movies share a universe, no matter what. But in a set of deleted scenes, Patrick actually appears onscreen — just not played by Christian Bale.

It turns out that two scenes were filmed for "The Rules of Attraction" which feature Patrick Bateman, but both were deleted before the movie's opening day. Casper Van Dien plays the character in these two removed segments. 

The first — which was released online by director Roger Avary – sees Sean call Patrick on a pay phone, desperate to cobble together enough money to pay back a drug dealer he owes. Patrick listens to Sean's pitch but turns him down cold, telling him to get a job of his own. Sean curses his brother out and slams the receiver into the wall, but Patrick remains unmoved after Sean hangs up, simply asking his loyal secretary Jean for the Perrier he previously requested. 

The second hasn't made it out of the director's vault, but according to Casper Van Dien it's a wild one. Patrick is again on the phone with Sean, but this time he can be heard tapping his fingertips against something. The camera pulls back to reveal that Patrick is drumming atop a woman's severed head, which is sitting in a plastic bag. "And then, I get up and I dance with it in a leopard Speedo G-string with blood everywhere," Van Dien explained to People Magazine. This moment — Avary's favorite in the film, according to the actor — was only cut to keep the film from being slapped with an NC-17 by the MPAA. While all of the Patrick Bateman scenes ended up on the cutting room floor no matter how gory they were, they exist as proof that the two are brothers — and that blood is definitely thicker than water.