Perhaps one of the most controversial things about Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy was actor Christian Bale's voice, which was a low, gravelly growl that has become a bit of a parody since the trilogy closed its doors after THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Bale, who we reported commenting on "batkid" and giving his advice for Ben Affleck as the caped crusader in BATMAN VS SUPERMAN and now we have the actor revealing the very origin of his controversial batvoice, which is pretty damn funny, especially given his wife's response after the audition.
Bale, dressed in Val Kilmer's batsuit from BATMAN FOREVER, developed the voice after feelings somewhat silly wearing the suit, which ended up being a risk that paid off. Here's his rundown on how it came to be:
"I got there. They put me in Val Kilmer's suit. It didn't even fit properly, and I stood in it and I went 'I feel like an idiot.' What kind of guy walks around, dressed like a bat? And is then going to go 'Hello, how are you? Just ignore that I'm dressed as a bat.' Of course, he's meant to be doing this," Bale said. "If you look at the history of the guy and the pain that he went through. I went 'I can't do this in a normal voice. I have to become a beast in order to sell this to myself.' "
After the audition, Bale gave the rundown to his wife. Her response was classic:
"I went home that evening, and my wife said, 'How'd it go?' I went, 'I kind of did this.' And I showed her, and she went, 'Oh, you f—ed that one up, didn't you?' Thank God they went for it. [The voice] ain't for everybody. Ben's obviously going to have to do his own thing, but it was the only way that I could find how to get into that and to justify wearing the fricking Batsuit. Otherwise, he's just loopy beyond belief. He's loopy, but he's loopy with a method to his madness."
Personally, I loved what Bale did with the batvoice. It was different, scary, and made sense for the world that Nolan created. It's also great to use when ordering Starbucks at the drive thru or dealing with telemarketers. Not so great for marriage proposals or picking up your kids from school, but still, it has its uses.
Bale will next be seen in OUT OF THE FURNACE out December 6, 2013 and AMERICAN HUSTLE on December 18, 2013.