After starring as the Dark Knight for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, VICE actor Christian Bale knows a thing or two about swinging through the streets of Gotham City as the World's Greatest Detective. While doing press for his latest film, FORD V FERRARI, in which Bale stars alongside Matt Damon, the method acting maniac was asked repeatedly about what he thinks of Robert Pattinson doning the cape and cowl for Matt Reeves' THE BATMAN.
To his credit, Bale has had nothing but positive things to say about Pattinson assuming the role. In fact, when recently speaking to Extra TV, Bale even shared a bit of solid advice for his newly-crowned Bat-brother about ignoring the haters that will inevitably try to get inside the actors head.
“Good for him. Just make it his own, don’t listen to the naysayers,” Bale insisted. “That's about it, everybody protested when Heath [Ledger] was cast as the Joker. Look what an absolutely brilliant performance he gave. Don’t listen to those guys, do his own thing. He’s a fascinating actor, he’s a great choice.”
Naturally, because the internet is a place where anonymity allows for a certain breed of individuals to harass others with little to no accountability for their actions, Pattinson has already endured his fair share of bedevilment about accepting the Batman role. “It’s maybe the craziest thing I’ve ever done in terms of movie stuff,” Pattison told Variety in September shortly after stepping into the Batsuit for the first time. “I put it on. I remember saying to Matt [Reeves], ‘It does feel quite transformative!’ He was like, ‘I would hope it does! You’re literally in the Batsuit,’” Pattinson added. Furthermore, Pattinson also expressed feeling a certain amount of elation upon slipping into Batman's black pajamas, saying that the suit makes you “feel very powerful immediately.”
“And it’s pretty astonishing, something that is incredibly difficult to get into, so the ritual of getting into it is pretty humiliating,” Pattinson confessed. “You’ve got five people trying to shove you into something. Once you’ve got it on, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I feel strong, I feel tough, even though I had to have someone squeezing my butt cheeks into the legs.’”
Yeah, so according to Bale, the batsuit can become quite a thing when needing to relieve yourself between takes. Apparently, the suit is often so difficult to manage that whoever's wearing it might need someone to hold their Batawang while trying to take a leak. "Just be able to pee by yourself. You don’t feel much like a superhero when you can’t take a piss by yourself,” Bale previously urged at the time when Ben Affleck was named as the next Caped Crusader.
It sounds to me like Pattinson will be experiencing plenty of trials and tribulations on his road toward playing Bruce Wayne and Batman. You know what, though? I'm a believer in his ability to pull this off, and with style to boot. A lot of people give him flack for making his name by way of the Twilight saga, but to assume that someone won't grow after engaging in one glaringly cheesy performance is a fool's errand. I've yet to see Pattinson's Batman, but so long as he doens't sparkle, I'm choosing to remain optimistic.