Home / Entertainment
‘Oppenheimer’ star Cillian Murphy admits not being ‘the right physical specimen for Batman’
Cillian Murphy recalls losing Batman role to Christian Bale for 'The Dark Knight' says, 'it was for the best'
Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy has admitted that it was ultimately for the best that Christian Bale secured the Bruce Wayne role in the Batman trilogy, as his portrayal of the superhero was truly remarkable.
Prior to the Ford v Ferrari star being cast as Batman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, Cillian Murphy revealed that he underwent a screen test for the iconic Batman role.
However, both Murphy and Bale have since acknowledged that the 47-year-old actor was never a serious threat to take the part from the Empire of the Sun actor.
During a conversation with GQ Magazine UK , the Inception actor shared that it “was for the best” that the Academy Award winner won the coveted role over him anyway.
Cillian continued, “Yes, I think it was for the best because we got Christian Bale’s performance, which is a stunning interpretation of that role, I never considered myself as the right physical specimen for Batman. To me, it was always going to be Christian Bale.”
Nolan also shared that he envisioned Murphy in the role of the film's antagonist, Scarecrow.
He told Entertainment Weekly, “Everybody was so excited by watching [Cillian] perform that when I then said to them, ‘Okay, Christian Bale is Batman, but what about Cillian to play Scarecrow?’ There was no dissent.”
“All the previous Batman villains had been played by huge movie stars Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey, that kind of thing.”
The Dunkrik director continued, "That was a big leap for them and it really was purely on the basis of that test. So that’s how you got to play Scarecrow.”
Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan teamed up together for the recently released epic drama, Oppenheimer, which landed in theatres in July 21, 2023.
