Several great actors have played the iconic role of Batman throughout the years. However, two of the most popular takes on the superhero character are those of Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy and Ben Affleck in the DC Extended Universe, including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Although many people praised Bale’s portrayal of the Caped Crusader in Nolan’s The Dark Knight, there was one aspect of the role that set him apart from Affleck’s Batman: the notorious growling voice. However, take note that the Little Women star made an effort to develop his character by attempting to use no special effects at all. As a result, many of the lines were difficult to follow.
Bale therefore failed to surpass Affleck’s Batman voice despite the success of The Dark Knight.
Christian Bale’s The Dark Knight Was a Huge Success
The superhero genre was revolutionized by Christian Bale’s The Dark Knight, which also had a significant impact on a large number of subsequent films. Gaining worldwide acclaim, Christopher Nolan created another masterpiece that, even years after its release, remains the preferred action film for many enthusiasts.
Not only did the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) surpass several box office records, but it also became the highest-grossing movie of 2008, the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time, and the highest-grossing superhero movie ever made. Apart from this, it was chosen in 2020 by the US Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry.
The Dark Knight, which had a $185 million budget, nearly made over $1 billion at the box office, which is quite impressive given the film’s great success. Interestingly enough, Bale is still getting used to the success it brought him. In an interview for Variety’s Playback podcast, the Academy Award-winning actor, 49, expressed his conflicted feelings about the role, saying:
“[I have] mixed emotions about it. I’m always eternally grateful to Chris…Why? Because of me. Chris cast me in Batman and suddenly everyone said, ‘Yeah, alright. We’ll go with him.’ It did change everything. It was the first time I had done a film of that magnitude. That was a real learning curve for me. I wrestled with it for a long time..”
Still, Christian Bale Failed to Beat Ben Affleck’s Batman Voice?
Batman is much more than just a man in a cape and cowl. Well, it is not just his gadgets, Batmobile, or butler, either—it is his voice—the one that growls at his foes and declares, “I am Batman”.
So, in the DCEU, Bruce Wayne utilizes a speech modulator that is attached to the back of his suit. While his words remain understandable, the modulator automatically modifies his voice, rendering it unidentifiable as Batman. Thus, without sacrificing anything, this process accomplishes its two goals of frightening criminals and concealing Batman’s true identity.
Nevertheless, Christian Bale tried to deepen his voice rather than using any kind of effects, which made many of the lines hard to follow and made him look ridiculous in scenes that were meant to be serious (per Screen Rant).
The Laurel Canyon star’s voice and the reasons behind its excessive harshness were discussed by director Christopher Nolan in one of his interviews for The Dark Knight Trilogy (via Screen Rant). The British-American director claimed that the reason Bale’s voice sounded that way was because he was attempting to maintain two different voices for Bruce Wayne and Batman:
“He decided that Batman needed to have a different voice than Bruce Wayne; he needed to put on a voice that supported the visual appearance of the character.”
However, compared to Bale, Ben Affleck‘s portrayals of Batman carry a lot more weight. The latter used a specially made voice modulator to make Batman sound incredibly menacing to the criminals he pursued. This was because Bruce intended to keep his identity a secret from the public, so this worked to his advantage.
HBO Max offers The Dark Knight for streaming.
