When you are looking for that one shot, that one opportunity to leave your impression on the world, you tend to leave no stone unturned and no length unscaled, which as a result, helps you get at the top of your craft. One of the best examples in the Hollywood industry for this is Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, two best friends who climbed the ladder of the film business together to become two of the most celebrated actors.
Having known each other for a long time and working in the industry for just as long, there have been so many times when both of them have been part of some of the biggest projects in cinema. In fact, on one occasion, both these stars were being auditioned simultaneously for an iconic film for the same role but were ordered not to disclose it to anyone at all.
Matt Damon And Ben Affleck Were Ordered Not To Talk About Their Auditions For Robin In 1989’s Batman
Their story takes place all the way back into the late 1980s when both the stars were still teen actors and were looking for their big break in the industry. This was the time when both Matt Damon and his best friend Ben Affleck were called in to audition for a role, which was the role of Robin, the sidekick of the iconic vigilante Batman from DC Comics in Tim Burton’s then-upcoming project Batman. The only twist here was that none of them had any idea what the audition was for and who they would play if they did bag the role.
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The film, which starred Michael Keaton as the titular protagonist, was once scripted to also feature his most famous sidekick alongside him, and thus, these auditions were underway. But later, the filmmaker decided that having the extra character would become more of a hindrance, which was the reason that he decided to scrap him altogether. This was a big loss for both stars, who were visibly dejected by this turn of events as it had been one of their biggest and best auditions until that point, which they couldn’t even talk about. The Gone Girl star talked about it, sharing at Jimmy Kimmel Live:
“The best [audition] — and the one that in retrospect hurts me to this day — [Damon and I] weren’t sure what it was because they told us it was a secret project, And so…they gave us what was a dummy, generic scene, about a kid who wanted to race BMXs, or something. We go down there and when we get into the room they tell us, ‘We didn’t want anyone to know about this and you need to keep it a secret, but this is actually an audition for…Tim Burton is making a movie about Batman, and this is for Robin.'”
While fate came around for Affleck in the end as he was given the chance to play Batman in the DCEU, Damon was still unlucky in this regard since he rejected Christopher Nolan’s offer to play the role of the world’s greatest detective in The Dark Knight Trilogy.
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What Was Tim Burton’s Batman About?
Adapting the original story of the vigilante with his unique flair, Tim Burton brings us the origin story of Bruce Wayne’s transformation into the crime-fighting superhero Batman. With the multi-billionaire looking over Gotham City as the titular character, he faces down the criminal underbelly of the city with restless vigor in the shadows, until one day, he comes face to face with The Joker, his biggest nemesis.
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Batman, streaming on Max.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live
