Christopher Nolan is a top-echelon director in Hollywood whose films have grossed millions, even billions of dollars at the box office, making him one of the most-in-demand filmmakers in recent times. The London native creative visionary made his directorial debut in 1998 with the film Following and gained worldwide attention for his critically acclaimed movie Memento which propelled him to unparalleled superstardom.
Since then, he has successfully helmed numerous fascinating projects featuring A-list talents. The award-winning director found further success with The Dark Knight Trilogy, which boasts a talented ensemble star cast who did a phenomenal job in each of the three films.
The 53-year-old filmmaker is enjoying the massive success of his latest released film Oppenheimer featuring incredible actor Cillian Murphy in the title role, who has worked in several of Nolan’s movies. The director once revealed that he nearly risked his $2.4B Dark Knight Franchise by almost casting Murphy as Batman, who reportedly failed in his audition.
Christopher Nolan Nearly Cast Cillian Murphy as Batman in Batman Begins
Christopher Nolan broke a cardinal rule by casting Irish actor Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow. Nevertheless, before the Oppenheimer actor dons his villain attire in his 2005 superhero film Batman Begins, he initially auditioned to play the title role in the movie. In a candid interview, the actor-director duo sits down to reflect on when Murphy auditioned for Batman, as the filmmaker shared,
“I remember I was up in San Francisco writing Batman Begins, and there was something in the San Francisco Chronicle about 28 Days Later. I saw a picture of you (talking about the actor) with your shaved head and crazy eyes — no offense. I remember being struck by your presence, literally from that one photograph, and then started to look into who you were and what you’d done, and got very excited about the idea of meeting you and having you screen test for Batman.”
The Inception movie director further told Cillian Murphy that he knew he wouldn’t be a perfect fit for this part, but he still wanted to cast him in the movie. So he offered him to play a villain, saying,
“When we had our first conversation, I think both of us knew that you weren’t going to wind up playing Batman. But I really wanted to get on set with you. I wanted to get you on film. I made sure that executives came down and watched what you were doing on set. Everybody was so excited by watching you perform that when I then said to them, “Okay, Christian Bale is Batman, but what about Cillian to play Scarecrow?” there was no dissent.”
He continued,
“All the previous Batman villains had been played by huge movie stars: Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey, that kind of thing. That was a big leap for them and it really was purely on the basis of that test. So that’s how you got to play Scarecrow.”
While in the past many A-list celebrities like Jesse Eisenberg, Uma Thurman, Jim Carey, and Colin Farrell, among more, have played Batman villains in the Batman movies and television shows, Christopher Nolan risked his billion-dollar franchise by featuring Cillian Murphy (who was a then-less known actor) as supervillain Scarecrow.
Cillian Murphy Claims He Knew He Wasnt a Batman Material
During the conversation, Cillian Murphy, who played the character of a villain in Christopher Nolan Batman Begins, revealed that he knew from the beginning that he wasn’t Batman material, saying,
“It was clear to me from the beginning that I wasn’t Batman material. It felt to me that it was correct and right that it should be Christian Bale for that part. But I remember the buzz of trying on the suit and being directed by you. Those tests were high production values.”
Murphy claimed he knew he wouldn’t get the part and felt that Christian Bale was the perfect fit to play the eponymous character, who did a phenomenal job in the movie. Nolan-directed superhero film earned high critical acclaim and positive reviews, grossing $371.9 million at the global box office.
Source: EW
