Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman still stands as one of the most memorable villains to ever grace the big screen. Although the Batman movie further catapulted the actress into unfathomable stardom, it wasn’t necessarily the most comfortable experience for her both emotionally and physically.
The actress was reportedly vacuum-sealed into her iconic costume, which to this day remains one of the most popular choices for Halloween. Pfeiffer struggled to breathe and was extremely uncomfortable while filming, all thanks to the iconic latex suit.
Michelle Pfeiffer Couldn’t Breathe in the Catwoman Suit
Catwoman’s black latex suit in Batman Returns is arguably more iconic than the Tim Burton movie itself, and the actress who brought it to life was none other than Michelle Pfeiffer. While she looked stunning, the price she paid for that appearance was significant. According to Metro, the actress once revealed to E! Online,
‘It would literally just start to squeeze my skin. I was only allowed to wear it for so many hours. I thought to myself: “I can’t move, I can’t breathe, I can’t think. I’m unhappy. I can’t act.”’
Indeed, it was undoubtedly a tremendously challenging task to don the iconic dress. So much so, that it demanded baby powder and silicone spray to slip into. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she stated,
“It was the most uncomfortable costume I’ve ever been in. They had to powder me down, help me inside, and then vacuum-pack the suit–I had those claws, and I was always catching them in things. The face mask was smashing my face and choking me … we had a lot of bugs to work out.”
The actress also voiced her experience in an interview with ET stating,
“My first week was like this — my boots weren’t right. I couldn’t walk in them because I kept tilting forward, and my mask was smashing my face, and I couldn’t hear, and it was cutting off my vocal cords, and I couldn’t really breathe in the corset. And then they would have all of these lights in my way, and I would have to then change, on the spot, what I had planned and what kind of routine I had planned with my whip. And then I had to act.”
All in all, it was a pretty dreadful experience for the actress.
The Catwoman Wasn’t Made for Michelle Pfeiffer
All though Michelle Pfeiffer is now synonymous with Catwoman, she wasn’t originally cast in the role. Annette Bening was originally cast as Selina Kyle but had to leave the project behind due to pregnancy. When Pfeiffer took over the role, the designers only made the required modifications to the existing costume rather than crafting an entirely new one.
Fortunately, the latex outfit, tailored for Bening’s body, although pretty uncomfortable for the most part offered her more flexibility. The suit was hand-tailored by Bob Ringwood and Mary E. Vogt, with suggestions from Tim Burton. Reportedly, it was Burton who had a vision that the costume would prominently have several intricate stitches, which ended up making it even more iconic.
Batman Returns is available on Max to stream.
