Taking on the role of a superhero in a major studio film comes with some incredibly high expectations. And depending on the person in the suit, an actor either thrives under the pressure or ends up failing. This can be seen quite clearly in the history of ‘Batman’ films and the actors that have taken on the role, such as Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Ben Affleck, and Christian Bale, with Robert Pattinson set to join the group.
And in the case of Bale, he is one of the actors that was able to take on the iconic character and, thanks to Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger (among others), turned in what many believe is the gold standard for Batman. So, with Pattinson set to inherit the cape and cowl in Matt Reeves’ upcoming film, Variety asked Bale what he thinks of the casting and if there’s any advice he’d give the young actor.
“[He’s a] good choice,” Bale said. “He’s interesting. I’m sure he’ll come up with something really interesting.”
As for advice, the ‘Dark Knight’ star said, “Oh, the same as for Ben, just be able to pee by yourself. You don’t feel much like a superhero when you can’t take a piss by yourself.”
Obviously, the advice is something that is aimed primarily at the fact that ‘Batman’ actors tend to be the center of intense scrutiny and attention. Thanks to superhero films dominating the box office, an actor like Pattinson taking on the role of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, is likely going to take the already-A-lister and vault his career to even greater heights. So, we can imagine he’s not going to have very much alone time.
Well, at least Pattinson has the Christian Bale Seal of Approval, for whatever it’s worth. We’ll have to wait until June 21, 2021 to really see how the actor handles the pressure of the role when Reeves’ ‘Batman’ hits theaters.
Christian Bale thinks Robert Pattinson is a "good choice" for #Batman. His advice? "Be able to pee by yourself" | #FORDvFERRARI – Variety Studio at #TIFF19 presented by @ATT pic.twitter.com/eiTlieVH5R
— Variety (@Variety) September 8, 2019
