The thing about playing comic book characters is that the actors keep changing from time to time, take Spider-Man for example! The same thing happens with Batman aka Bruce Wayne aka The Caped Crusader. A ton of actors have had a go at playing the character including Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson, and so on.
There will always be a debate among fans about who’s the better Batman. However, one cannot deny that each of the actors brought something different to the character. As for the actors, it must not be easy to let go of the iconic role and see it getting passed on to someone else. Christian Bale would certainly agree with this as he admitted to being a little jealous when Ben Affleck took on the mantle.
Was Christian Bale Envious of Ben Affleck?
Despite the fact that Christian Bale was the star of one of the most lovable franchises of the superhero universe, he got a little jealous when Ben Affleck took over the role. What was the jealousy about, though? Was Bale worried that Affleck would make a better Batman than him? No, that was certainly not the case!
Bale’s feelings stemmed from the fact that someone else was going to be donning the cape after he played Batman for so many years. Talking to Empire magazine (as reported by Vanity Fair), Bale stated that he simply stood there staring at nothing for thirty minutes.
“I just stopped and stared into nothing for half an hour. The fact that I’m jealous of someone else playing Batman…I think I should have gotten over it by now…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.’”
It looks like Bale was having serious FOMO when Affleck took over the character. So much so that he wanted to play Batman beyond The Dark Knight trilogy! Would you have preferred to see Bale as Batman once again or are you happy with how the timeline unfolded?
Christian Bale Isn’t Satisfied with His Performance
Bale’s Batman has a loyal and dedicated fan base. Even though The Dark Knight trilogy ended in 2012, fans of the superhero world still compare the new releases to the trilogy. The bar is set so high by The Dark Knight trilogy and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to try and reach it.
Despite all of this, Bale feels like he could have given the trilogy much more than he did. Talking to Yahoo, Bale stated,
“I didn’t quite manage what I hoped I would throughout the trilogy. [Director Christopher Nolan] did, but my own sense of self is like, ‘I didn’t quite nail it.’”
So what was it that Bale thinks was left undelivered? Well, Bale wanted to highlight Batman’s twisted nature, which he felt he wasn’t able to. He stated,
“Batman, he’s this very, very dark, messed-up character. 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.”
Bale continued that he felt that the late Heath Ledger “completely ruined his plans” by showing up because he felt Ledger was “much more interesting” than him in his portrayal of the Joker. Even though Bale might not be satisfied with his performance, his contribution to the character will forever be etched into the minds and hearts of Batman fans!
You can watch The Dark Knight trilogy on HBO Max.
Source: Vanity Fair
