- [Man] It's the 10th
anniversary of The Dark Knight,
and new Batman rumors are swirling daily.
It's tough to picture
anyone but Christian Bale
in Christopher Nolan's beloved trilogy,
but plenty of other
actors were considered.
So who were they?
- You wanted me, here I am.
(dinging)
- [Man] When casting his
lead for Batman Begins,
one of the first actors Nolan met with
was none other than Heath Ledger.
(sighing)
- Hi.
- [Man] Who told the director quote,
"I would never take part
in a superhero film."
Of course, Ledger later won
an Oscar for his brilliant
portrayal as the joker in
Nolan's The Dark Knight.
- This town deserves a
better class of criminal.
(dog barking)
And I'm gonna give it to them.
- [Man] Ledger's Brokeback
Mountain co-star Jake Gyllenhaal,
was Batman Begins screenwriter
David S. Goyer's first choice.
And tested around the same time
he was considered for Spider-Man.
But has said he's at peace
with not landing either role.
- Hey Jake, I didn't, see ya there.
- [Man] Cillian Murphy
who had just broken out
in 28 Days Later auditioned and
impressed Nolan enough that,
the director cast him as the villain
in Batman Begins, the Scarecrow.
- He's here.
- Who?
- The Batman.
- [Man] If fact, Murphy's
screen test can be seen
in the Dark Knight Trilogy
Ultimate Collector's Edition,
as well as the Band of
Brothers star Eion Bailey.
Josh Hartnett actually took
himself out of the running,
blaming the intensity of
his sudden fame at the time
from movies like Pearl Harbor
and 40 Days and 40 Nights.
But Hartnett's Black Hawk
Down co-star Hugh Dancy,
did audition for Nolan,
as well as Joshua Jackson
from Dawson's Creek,
Billy Crudup from Almost Famous,
David Boreanaz from
Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
and even Henry Cavill,
who later became Superman.
- Bruce said something about you having
to take us all to bunch?
- [Man] In the end though,
Nolan turned to Christian Bale,
who could certainly could bring a darkness
to The Dark Knight, coming off his roles
in American Psycho and the Machinist.
- Hey Paul.
(upbeat music)
(screaming)
(thumping)
♪ Couldn't take the furnace fan ♪
- [Man] Bale eventually
played the role three times,
before the DC Extended Universe movies
and will certainly be
remembered as one of the best
to dawn a cape and say this.
- I'm Batman.
(intense music)
(grunting)
