Sean Bateman

Sean Bateman is a fictional character in the novels of Bret Easton Ellis; he is the younger brother of serial killer Patrick Bateman. He was the main character of The Rules of Attraction and appeared in Ellis's novels American Psycho, The Informers and Glamorama. He was portrayed by James Van Der Beek in the .

Character
Sean detests his brother and father and the hollow, privileged lives they live, even though deep down he is not much different. He accepts that he was born wealthy, but resents it.

Sean is described as a "hopeless romantic". In The Rules of Attraction he is very promiscuous, and often runs into girls he slept with and barely remembers them. He falls head over heels for Lauren Hynde, who dislikes him but still enters a relationship with him. Sean believes his and Lauren's relationship to be true love, but he still cheats on her, and Lauren sees Sean as a less than satisfactory boyfriend. He is a bad lover and too wrapped up in his pursuits of getting drunk and stoned whenever he can.

Sean also may have pursued a sexual relationship with bisexual student Paul Denton. He has many encounters with Paul, who is always trying to get him on a date or into bed. Paul misinterprets Sean's annoyed "whatever" responses for shyness and continues his pursuit. Paul states that he and Sean have a sexual relationship, but this relationship is never mentioned by Sean.

Sean hates his roommate Bertrand, a French student who also has eyes for Lauren. He refers to Bertrand as "The Frog" and often makes racist remarks about him.

Sean is, above all else, dedicated to getting intoxicated. He is a heavy drinker and smokes copious amounts of marijuana. He is also prone to drinking Nyquil and other medication when pot is not available. He also enjoys using cocaine. He is a heavy smoker, Parliament being his favorite brand.

Sean is slightly suicidal. He gets a thrill from ripping off Rupert Guest, a drug dealer who would not hesitate to kill him if need be, and despite having the means to pay him back, he does not.

After breaking up with Lauren for the first time, he attempts suicide by hanging himself with a tie, but fails. Later he tries to slit his wrist with a razor and overdose on Actifed, but fails on both counts.

Sean's other interests include playing the guitar and faking seizures at the school infirmary to be excused from classes.

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