A proven master of his craft, former actor Daniel Day-Lewis’s name is etched in the history of cinema as one of its best actors. Having acted in only 20 feature films since 1971, throughout his career, Day-Lewis is largely regarded as an intense method actor. Needless to say, he was rather choosy about the films he engrossed himself with.
Rumor has it, that after Michael Keaton quit the Batman franchise after working in Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns, the English actor was in talks of taking over the role in the sequels. However, Day-Lewis was not much interested and decided to pass. This was among the numerous roles he had turned down, many from esteemed directors, or award-winning movies. Notably, Day-Lewis is the only actor to have won three Oscars in the Best Actor category.
Daniel Day-Lewis turned down Batman
According to ScreenRant, the 66-year-old former actor graced Joel Schumacher’s casting list before the shooting for 1995’s Batman Forever began. This was after Michael Keaton announced his departure from the franchise because of a dispute with the director on Bruce Wayne’s character development, per Collider.
Thus, before American actor Val Kilmer took on the duties of DC’s Caped Crusader, Daniel Day-Lewis was being considered for the third Batman sequel. As per the source, many actors were being reviewed but the crew had their eyes set on the talented method actor. Unfortunately, Day-Lewis paid little heed to the opportunity of playing a superhero.
That’s not all, years later, the Lincoln actor was once again considered for the part of The Riddler in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. Despite Christopher Nolan’s ingenuity, Day-Lewis never made it to Gotham City. Although the actor might have saved himself from some drama, as Joel Schumacher holds a reputation among the Batman actors.
Why did Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer quit Batman?
Even though Keaton appeared in only two of the Batman movies, his portrayal went on to be the defining character of the superhero’s future. He influenced the Batman theories, character development, and also the animations of the superhero. Nevertheless, Schumacher could not contain him in the franchise. Keaton left after a controversy with the director, as he claimed on Playlist’s Backstage podcast. The actor revealed,
“It was always Bruce Wayne. It was never Batman… I knew from the get-go it was Bruce Wayne. He asked me, ‘I don’t understand why everything has to be so dark and everything so sad,’ and I went, ‘Wait a minute, do you know how this guy got to be Batman? Have you read… I mean, it’s pretty simple.’”
Likewise, Val Kilmer appeared in the only Batman movie, Batman Forever, and hung up the cowl because of a dispute with Schumacher and feeling underappreciated for his work, per Collider. Even though Forever was well-received by the audience, the sequel Batman and Robin was scrapped by critics. It is worth noting that both the actors had trouble coming to terms with Schumacher’s perspective of Batman.
