George Clooney apparently tried to warn Ben Affleck not to take on the role of Batman, but his friend clearly didn’t listen.
Appearing on the Awards Chatter podcast for The Hollywood Reporter, Clooney spoke of how 1997’s Batman & Robin completely changed how he approached his career. “[Arnold] Schwarzenegger was paid, I think, $25 million for that, which was like 20 times more than I was paid for it, and, you know, we never even worked together! We worked together one day. But I took all the heat,” said Clooney as he remembered how poorly received the movie was. “Now, fair deal; I was playing Batman and I wasn’t good in it, and it wasn’t a good film, but what I learned from that failure was, I had to rethink how I was working. Because now I wasn’t just an actor getting a role, I was being held responsible for the film itself.”
Years later Clooney would serve as a producer on Ben Affleck’s Argo, and that is where the two ended up discussing the younger man’s future as Batman. “I actually did talk to him about it. I said, ‘Don’t do it.’” said Clooney. “It was only from my experience, which is, you know.” Affleck, of course, didn’t listen, and Clooney thinks that’s fine. “He did great, though,” said Clooney.
This is a story that will be true for anyone who takes on the role of Batman. It is not just another role, it is a character with a gigantic history and expectations attached to it. No matter who Matt Reeves ends up picking for The Batman, they won’t just be joining a film, they will be joining a legacy.
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
