The role of Batman has been played on screen many times before, there have been so many Batman movies, so when Robert Pattinson officially debuts in the role next month in The Batman, just one of the upcoming DC movies we have on the schedule, he will join a special fraternity of actors. It’s not surprising that when those actors get together they would talk about playing Batman, but it turns out they’ll talk about it pretty much anywhere. Including standing at the urinal.
Christian Bale, who was the last actor to play Batman on the big screen in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, had already revealed publicly that he had given Robert Pattinson some advice about playing Batman. That advice, specifically, was to make sure that the suit gave him the ability to use the bathroom by himself. What Bale didn’t mention at the time, however, was that he apparently gave Pattinson that advice while both of them were literally peeing. Pattison spoke about the conversation in a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live saying…
I was a bit scared to ask them anything but I bumped into Christian Bale, next to him in a urinal and I guess it kind of inspired him to say, 'The first thing you need to do in the batsuit is figure out a way to pee.’ So when I went into the costume department, I was like, ‘First things first. I need a patch. I need a flap on the back.’ Easy access. Velcro. I’d pee sitting down.
I mean, I suppose it makes sense. If you’re actually using the bathroom and you’re talking about playing Batman, then of course Christian Bale starts thinking about using the bathroom while playing Batman. And it certainly sounds like it was useful advice. Pattinson said he made sure the costume gave him the freedom to use the bathroom and he didn’t need help.
And this is the best sort of advice because it’s about aspects of playing the role that an actor might not necessarily consider. They’re going to be focused on how to perform the role of Batman, and that’s the sort of thing that you likely won’t ask other actors about. While there are certainly elements of playing Batman that we would expect to be consistent between actors, they’re part of who the character is, each actor is also going to want to approach the role in their own way. Nobody wants to be accused of just copying somebody else’s performance. Batman needs his own voice.
We will see how Robert Pattinson works as Batman when The Batman arrives next month. But at least we know that, thanks to Christian Bale, he was comfortable while he made it.
