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What Happened To The Batman Actors...
WatchMojo
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11/15/2023
Nananananananana BATMEN! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re taking a look at the actors most famous for playing The Caped Crusader and where their careers went from there.
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Short film
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00:00
I need you.
00:01
You need me first.
00:02
Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:04
And today, we're taking a look at the actors most famous
00:08
for playing the Caped Crusader and where
00:10
their careers went from there.
00:12
We won't be including Robert Pattinson,
00:14
as he's played the role too recently.
00:17
You either die a hero, or you live long enough
00:21
to see yourself become the villain.
00:24
Adam West, Batman.
00:26
The real crime--
00:27
Precisely, Inspector Bash.
00:29
The Riddler contrives his plots like artichokes.
00:33
You have to strip off spiny leaves to reach the heart.
00:36
Adam West wasn't the first actor to don the Batman cowl,
00:39
but he was the first to make a long-term impact.
00:43
On the delightfully campy series from the 1960s,
00:46
West didn't mug for the camera.
00:48
Instead, he played both Bruce Wayne and Batman
00:51
as rather reserved.
00:52
This made the show's absurd comedy all the funnier.
00:56
After the show ended, West had trouble
00:58
shaking the association with Batman.
01:00
He reprised the character in both live action
01:02
and animated form.
01:04
He also played the Gary Ghost in Batman the Animated Series.
01:07
While he's most famous for Batman,
01:10
he had plenty of memorable appearances in other media.
01:13
And how come Batman doesn't dance anymore?
01:15
Remember the Bat-to-see?
01:18
Yo, hey, yeah.
01:20
Millennials might know him best as the unhinged
01:22
mare on Family Guy.
01:24
I guess I told him nobody messes with Adam Wee.
01:29
In 2017, West passed away at the age of 88.
01:34
Michael Keaton, Batman, and Batman Returns.
01:37
What are you?
01:39
I'm Batman.
01:41
When Michael Keaton was announced as the new Batman
01:43
in Tim Burton's blockbuster, people
01:45
were confused and dismayed.
01:47
Though we know now Keaton to be an accomplished dramatic actor,
01:51
back then, he was mostly known for comedy.
01:53
It's showtime.
01:56
But Batman was a massive hit, and Keaton ruled his chops.
02:00
After starring in the sequel, Keaton
02:02
departed the franchise following Burton's exit.
02:05
He stayed busy post-Batman, starring in films
02:07
like Multiplicity and Jackie Brown.
02:09
Though the 2000s were fairly quiet for Keaton,
02:12
he came back in a big way in 2014
02:16
with his Oscar-nominated turn in Birdman.
02:18
I wasn't-- I wasn't even present in my own life,
02:21
and now I don't have it.
02:23
Never gonna have it.
02:25
Since then, Keaton has further shown his range,
02:27
playing the villainous vulture in Spider-Man Homecoming
02:30
and starring in dramas like Spotlight.
02:32
Oh, and he reprised his most famous role
02:35
in the big screen Flash movie.
02:38
Yeah.
02:41
I'm Batman.
02:43
Val Kimmerer, Batman Forever.
02:45
Let's just say I could write a hell of a paper
02:47
on a grown man who dresses like a flying rodent.
02:51
Bats aren't rodents, Dr. Meridian.
02:53
After the dark and unsettling Batman Returns
02:56
was met with a fairly polarized response,
02:58
Warner Brothers decided to go back to the drawing board.
03:01
They hired Joe Schumacher to direct,
03:03
and Val Kimmerer was cast in his place.
03:06
He killed him.
03:07
Two-Face, he slaughtered that boy's parents.
03:11
While Kimmerer's portrayal had its admirers,
03:13
it wasn't enough to save the movie
03:15
from feeling more like a cartoon than a superhero epic.
03:18
He was also upstaged by the hammy villain turns
03:21
from Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones.
03:24
Kimmerer ultimately chose not to continue on as Batman.
03:27
He had well-received turns in films
03:29
like The Prince of Egypt and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
03:32
Look up idiot in the dictionary.
03:33
You know what you'll find?
03:35
A picture of me?
03:35
No, the definition of the word idiot, which you [BLEEP]
03:38
are.
03:39
He also had a touching return as Iceman in Top Gun Maverick,
03:44
which mirrored his real-life battle with throat cancer.
03:47
Who's the better pilot, you or me?
03:49
This is a nice moment.
03:54
Let's not ruin it.
03:55
[LAUGHS]
03:59
George Clooney, Batman and Robin.
04:01
I want a car.
04:02
Chicks dig the car.
04:07
This is why Superman works alone.
04:09
In theory, George Clooney, with his square jaw and deep voice,
04:13
was the ideal choice to play Batman
04:15
following Kilmer's departure.
04:17
But Joe Schumacher's follow-up was so over the top
04:20
and ridiculous, no portrayal could save it.
04:23
Hey, freeze.
04:24
The heat is on.
04:25
It was such a misfire, it essentially
04:31
put the series on hiatus for nearly a decade.
04:33
But Clooney quickly rebounded, establishing himself
04:36
as a true leading man in Out of Sight and Three Kings.
04:39
His streak only continued in the 2000s,
04:42
starring in the Ocean films and earning accolades
04:45
for films like Michael Clayton and Siriana,
04:47
which he won an Oscar for.
04:49
Why am I being investigated?
04:52
Why am I being investigated, Fred?
04:54
Clooney has also made his mark as a director.
04:57
Oh, and he reprises his role as Bruce Wayne in The Flash
05:01
in a memorable cameo.
05:03
You're not Batman.
05:04
What's wrong with you?
05:08
Kristen Bell, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight,
05:11
and The Dark Knight Rises.
05:12
What gives you the right?
05:14
What's the difference between you and me?
05:16
I'm not wearing hockey pants.
05:19
Even eight years after Batman and Robin,
05:21
there was doubt as to whether Batman had a future in movies.
05:24
But hope was found in the form of Christopher Nolan,
05:28
who gave the material the serious treatment it deserved.
05:31
I never went to the drop-off point.
05:33
It was in the narrows.
05:34
Cops only go there when they're in force.
05:36
Do I look like a cop?
05:38
Crucial to the success of his trilogy
05:39
is Christian Bell, who had grown up from promising child star
05:43
to one of the most compelling actors of his generation.
05:46
Woken up to play Batman, Bell gave us a hero
05:49
who truly felt torture.
05:50
After wrapping things up with The Dark Knight Rises,
05:53
Bell continued to demonstrate his amazing range
05:56
with Oscar-nominated turns in American Hustle, The Big Short,
05:59
and Vice.
06:00
Maybe I can handle some of the more mundane jobs,
06:05
overseeing bureaucracy, managing military, energy,
06:12
foreign policy.
06:13
He also showed he could play a supervillain
06:15
when he portrayed Gorr the God Butcher in Thor, Love,
06:18
and Thunder.
06:19
Just as the sword empowered me, the hammer empowered you.
06:26
But it did nothing to change your fate.
06:29
Ben Affleck, Batman versus Superman, Dawn of Justice,
06:32
Justice League.
06:33
Tell me.
06:34
Do you bleed?
06:41
Ben Affleck is arguably the Batman actor
06:43
who was most famous prior to playing the Caped Crusader.
06:46
And when his casting was announced
06:48
in the eagerly anticipated face-off between Batman
06:51
and Superman, there was a good deal of skepticism.
06:54
But when Zack Snyder's film overall
06:56
got a negative reception, Affleck's portrayal
06:58
of an older, jaded Batman was praised.
07:01
They told me the world only makes sense if you force it to.
07:05
After Justice League, and a brief role in The Flash,
07:08
Affleck appears to have said goodbye to Batman for good.
07:12
Well done, Mr. Wayne.
07:14
Will you be home for breakfast, sir?
07:15
Yes, I think so.
07:21
Recent highlights from his filmography
07:23
include medieval drama The Last Duel and Sneaker Story Air,
07:27
which he also directed.
07:29
Don't confuse desperation with visions.
07:31
Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
07:34
and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
07:37
You have the option to be notified for occasional videos
07:40
or all of them.
07:41
If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
07:43
and switch on notifications.
07:47
Kevin Conroy, various.
07:49
Gotham police declare war on Batman.
07:52
I gather you've been reading how to make friends and influence
07:54
people.
07:57
Somebody's setting me up.
07:58
We've mostly stuck to live action portrayals for this list.
08:01
But real comic fans know that no Batman list is
08:04
complete without Kevin Conroy.
08:06
His vocal gravitas was just one of many reasons
08:09
why Batman, the animated series, was
08:11
a cut above the average superhero cartoon.
08:14
Clean up your act, Joker.
08:16
And Conroy voiced the Caped Crusaders
08:18
in multiple other series and movies.
08:20
A closeted gay man for much of his life,
08:23
Conroy understood how to play someone
08:25
trying to reconcile both a private and public persona.
08:28
I've put out a few fires, yes.
08:30
Won a few battles.
08:32
But the war goes on, Alfred.
08:34
On and on.
08:36
Conroy's unmistakable voice can be heard in Batman media
08:40
from the '90s through the end of the 2010s.
08:43
He sadly passed away in 2022 at the age of 66
08:47
following a private battle with intestinal cancer.
08:50
I am vengeance.
08:52
I am the night.
08:54
I am Batman.
08:57
Who's your all-time favorite Batman?
08:59
Let us know in the comments down below.
09:02
Gonna have to go into double secret super vigilante mode.
09:06
Did you enjoy this video?
09:08
Check out these other clips from WatchMojo.
09:10
And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
09:12
to be notified about our latest videos.
09:15
♪♪
09:25
[BLANK_AUDIO]
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