‘Batman’ Stars: Actors Who’ve Played The Caped Crusader

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June 27, 2023 6:21PM EDT

A select few heroes have played Batman over the years. See who has had the honor of being the Caped Crusader here.

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Stars Who Have Played Batman: Robert Pattinson & More

Stars Who Have Played Batman: Robert Pattinson & More — Plenty of people want to be Bruce Wayne, but only a few had tackled the task. With the release of ‘The Batman’ on Mar. 4, it’s worth looking back at who has put on the mask.

Robert Pattinson is a British actor most known for his role as Edward Cullen in the ‘Twilight Saga.’ He also appeared ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ in 2005 — one of his first, bigger credited roles. Robert went on to star in films like ‘Water For Elephants’ alongside A-lister Reese Witherspoon and ‘Bel Ami’ opposite Uma Thurman.

In 2019, it was announced that he would be the new Batman in the upcoming 2021 film, ‘The Batman.’ In an interview with ‘Variety,’ Robert expressed just how he felt about playing the iconic role, which has also been played by George Clooney, Michael Keaton, and Christian Bale, just to name a few. “To be honest, it was less vitriolic than I was expecting,” he said. “It’s much more fun when you’re an underdog. There’s no expectation of you.” Ex-girlfriend and former ‘Twilight’ co-star Kristen Stewart praised the actor for landing the role, saying, “I am so happy for him, it is crazy… I’m very, very happy about that. I heard [the news] and was like, ‘Oh man!’ Yeah, it’s awesome.”

Click through the gallery for more photos of the actors behind Batman.

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Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck — Although Ben Affleck, 47, is known for his roles in films like ‘Argo,’ ‘Hollywoodland,’ ‘Gone Girl,’ and ‘Jersey Girl,’ the actor and producer made headlines when it was announced that he would be playing the role of Batman in the 2016 film, ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.’ Fans freaked out earlier this year when it was reported that Ben might be passing the Batman torch off to someone new.

A source close to the actor EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife in February: “Ben Affleck might not be done playing Batman if everything was up to him. He will not be a part of the future film ‘The Batman’ that is coming out in a few years from Warner Brothers but he still might play Batman in a future film in the current DC Universe because he is still the Batman of note in the timeline of the current movies.” Turns out, they were right, as it was announced that Robert Pattinson would play the part in ‘The Batman,’ set to hit theaters in 2021.

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Ben McKenzie

Ben McKenzie — ‘The OC’ alum Ben McKenzie starred on the hit TV show ‘Gotham’ as James Gordon. He also voiced the character of Batman in the ‘Gotham Stories’ TV series.

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Christian Bale

Christian Bale — Christian Bale starred in ‘Batman Begins’ in 2005. He reprised his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in ‘The Dark Knight’ in 2008, and again in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ in 2012.

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George Clooney

George Clooney — Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney starred in 1997’s ‘Batman & Robin’ as Batman. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman also appeared in the film.

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Val Kilmer

Val Kilmer — Val Kilmer played a surly Bruce Wayne in 1995’s ‘Batman Forever’, directed by Joel Schumacher.

Val was vocal about his disdain for the bulky bat-suit he wore during the film. Though he admitted the role was a dream for any little boy in his 2021 documentary ‘Val’, he said, “When you’re in [the bat suit], you can barely move and people have to help you stand up and sit down. You also can’t hear anything and after a while people stop talking to you. It’s very isolating.”

“It was a struggle for me to get a performance past the suit, and it was frustrating until I realized my performance was just to show up and stand where I was told to,” he added.

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Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton — Michael Keaton was the lead in Tim Burton’s 1989 ‘Batman’ movie and in 1992’s ‘Batman Returns’. He’ll be reprising the role, playing an aged version in the films of ‘The Flash’ and ‘Batgirl’, slated for 2022.

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Adam West

Adam West — Adam West’s campy 60s version of the Caped Crusader is in a league of its own. Though he wasn’t exactly the first to play Bruce Wayne on the big screen (that honor would go to Lewis Wilson, who took on the role in a 15-chapter Columbia Pictures serial that came out in 1943, just four years after the big bat made his debut in Detective Comics #27) Adam is many fans first memory of a live-action Batman. He played the part in a 1966 film, as well as the polarizing 1966 to 1968 TV series.

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Will Arnett

Will Arnett — And of course, we can’t forget the animated Batmen! Will Arnett lent his voice to the LEGO version of Batman in ‘The LEGO Batman Movie.’ He also once claimed he orders food over the phone in the Batman voice!

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Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy — What a voice. Kevin Conroy is best known for voicing the character of Batman in the 1990s cartoon series, ‘Batman: The Animated Series.’

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