So far Ben Affleck is the longest-tenured of the live-action Batman actors on film, having starred as the Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, both cuts of Justice League and The Flash (plus a cameo in Suicide Squad). Last month, Affleck got real about the pros and cons of his time playing Gotham City’s protector in the DCEU, but today, we’re sticking firmly with cons. That’s because the actor shared why he ‘hated’ wearing the Batsuits, and I really feel for him after he described this unfortunate aspect of the job.
As part of a GQ interview where he answered one question about most of the movies he’s performed in, Affleck was asked if the Batsuit he wore in The Flash (which can be streamed with a Max subscription) was his favorite. That led to him letting off steam about how miserable he’d been wearing these costumes, starting with the following:
I hated the Batsuits. The Batsuits are horrendous to wear. They’re incredibly hot, for one thing. They don’t breathe. They’re made to look the way they want ‘em to look, and there’s no thought put into the human being. So what happens is you just start sweating. Now I’m already — I sweat, you know what I mean? I get hot. And so in that thing, you would just be pouring water because it’s got the cowl over it. Like, there’s one thing to wear the suit, but once you cover your head, I guess that’s where all your heat kind of escapes and you feel it.
Yeah, that doesn’t sound pleasant in the slightest. I can almost feel myself getting a little warm just thinking about wearing that heavy Batman costume and the sweat leaking out from under my cowl. Keep in mind that Ben Affleck would have been sweating plenty had he just been wearing the Batsuit and walking around, but this Batman we’re talking about. He’s also having to run around and throw punches, which will obviously produce further moisture. Affleck continued:
Even the most highly-trained, much more fit stunt guys, the parkour guys, the action guys, they could do that for about like 45, 50 minutes, and then they’re like gonna get heatstroke. So you had to come out of it, and that was really the thing was that it just made it difficult to make the movie because it was so hot.
Now I really feel bad for Ben Affleck’s stunt doubles on those DC movies. Hopefully there were people on standby with water to make sure everyone dressed up as Batman was properly hydrated, and medics just in case someone did collapse. Affleck concluded this portion of the interview saying:
It also does not make you feel very heroic because you’re instantly exhausted and really sweaty and kinda trying to hide the sweat pouring down your face. Like, ‘No, we can go again, I’m fine, I’m good.’ And then there’ll be like… eye black is, like, running.
Ben Affleck then mused that fellow Batman actors Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson were just “better” at dealing with wearing the Batsuit, but he personally found that to be the “least fun part” about playing the character. To back Affleck up, his Batman costume was also much bulkier than what his predecessors and Pattinson put on. I don’t know if that actually resulted in larger quantities of sweat, but it probably made for an even more uncomfortable experience.
Fortunately for Affleck, he never has to don a Batsuit again… unless he decides to revisit Batman at an older age like Michael Keaton did in The Flash, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, Robert Pattinson is the current cinematic Batman, and someone else will be taking on the role in the DC Universe franchise for the upcoming DC movie The Brave and the Bold.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
