In Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale headed one of the most successful Batman series to date. The actor worked on the character for seven years and helped Batman become the first billion-dollar superhero film at the time. Although Christian Bale was happy with retiring the character at the end of his stint, things changed when he realized that Ben Affleck had been cast in the role.
Christian Bale felt a twinge of jealousy at the prospect of someone else assuming the mantle of Batman. The sensation enticed him to don the cape once more.
Christian Bale didn’t think he nailed his Batman performance.
Christian Bale is an academy award-winning actor who was widely regarded as the ideal option for the role of Batman upon his casting. Despite his acting pedigree, Bale did not believe he was as excellent as Batman as he could have been. The American Psycho star admitted to Yahoo that there were aspects of Batman that he thought he didn’t convey.
“I didn’t quite manage what I hoped I would throughout the trilogy,” Bale said. “(Director Christopher Nolan) did, but my own sense of self is like, ‘I didn’t quite nail it.’”
Christian Bale later claimed that he intended to get deeper into the character’s mind.
“Batman, he’s this very, very dark, messed-up character,” Bale said. “I found when I put on the suit I went, ‘I just feel like a bloody idiot if I don’t use this as a means to kind of (show) his true, monstrous self that he allows to come out in that moment.”
Christian Bale admitted he was jealous of Ben Affleck when he was cast as Batman
Christian Bale was content with his decision to retire the cape and cowl after The Dark Knight Rises. He thought he and Nolan had finished the story that needed to be told, and it was time to conclude his Batman’s journey.
“We were incredibly fortunate to get to make three [Batman films],” Bale told Entertainment Weekly (via Vanity Fair.) “That’s enough. Let’s not get greedy.”
Christian Bale later stated that he was eager to deliver the torch to his successor.
“It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with,” he revealed.
When Bale handed over the baton to Ben Affleck, he realized he still hadn’t gotten over Batman. According to a second Vanity Fair article, Bale stated that when Affleck was first cast as Batman, the news affected him hard.
“I just stopped and stared into nothing for half an hour,” Bale said. “The fact that I’m jealous of someone else playing Batman…I think I should have gotten over it by now.”
Regardless of Bale’s initial opinions on the subject, Affleck’s casting enticed him to reprise his role.
“I’ve got to admit initially, even though I felt that it was the right time to stop, there was always a bit of me going, ‘Oh go on…Let’s do another.’”
Why does Michael Keaton not get jealous when other actors play Batman
When asked if he ever feels the same way Bale does about the new Batmen, Michael Keaton explained why he doesn’t.
“Do you know why? Because I’m Batman. I’m very secure in that,” Keaton said according to Mirror.
Keaton’s reputation as the caped crusader will be continued as he reprises his role in the next Flash film.
