The Best (and Worst!) Batman Actors Ever

Michael Keaton, Batman (1989) 
Still one of the most beloved big screen adaptations, many bat-stans will argue that Tim Burton’s Batman is infallible. Although critics were originally ambivalent towards the Michael Keaton casting in the late 1980s, it certainly didn’t take long for Burton’s decision to pay off. 

Keaton’s performance as Batman is as smooth as butter, while still leaving plenty of room for the actor’s own eccentric interpretation of the role. A trailblazer for the deluge of superhero films that followed, Keaton also infused the role with plenty of camp throwback elements that made the Batman series so beloved in the 1960s (famously portrayed by Adam West). It’s also hard to imagine another Joker terrorising Gotham like Jack Nicholson!

Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012) 
We’re just going to go ahead and say it: The Dark Knight Trilogy is the greatest set of superhero films ever produced. Guided by the expert directorial hand of Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale effortlessly unites the philanthropic billionaire Bruce Wayne with his dangerous nocturnal pursuits as Batman. 

With Bale putting on an omnipotent physical performance rivalled only by Bane (Tom Hardy) in the third instalment, Nolan also made sure to put a beating heart behind the bullet-proof armour, illuminating the backstory of Wayne in ways previous titles didn’t. Of course immortalised alongside Heath Ledger’s Joker, Bale helped bring our hermited superhero from his shell after previous ignominious outings, paving the way for ‘gritty realism’ to permeate the movie industry in the 2010s (particularly in other flicks like James Bond).

Robert Pattinson, The Batman (2022)  
Matt Reeves' rain-soaked grunge noir The Batman has been punching plenty of tickets at the box office in March, the $128 million opening weekend marking the biggest so far in 2022. Much of the critical applause has been reserved for Robert Pattinson, who’s solemn, brooding Batman does much to legitimise the emo-revival sweeping sartorial circles of late. 

Backed by the inimitable crooning of Kurt Cobain’s ‘Something in the Way’, Pattinson also inherits arguably the coolest batmobile of all time, the Chevy Camaro-inspired beast expertly rendered by Aussie cinematographer, Greig Fraser.

George Clooney, Batman & Robin (1997) 
Holy brown undies, Batman! George Clooney may be among the most charming men in Hollywood, but his performance in the infamous Batman & Robin is one of the worst of all time. A box office flop, Clooney’s co-stars also failed to deliver, with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing Mr Freeze, a character so cringeworthy it’ll send chills down your spine. 

Years later at a Comic-Con event (the world’s largest comic book convention), Clooney actually apologised for his contributions as the caped crusader, calling the film ‘a disaster’. He also revealed that he thought he’d ‘destroyed’ the franchise (for the record, director Joel Schumacher also apologised!). 

Ben Affleck, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Who needs the bat signal when you’re already the spawn of thousands of memes and TikTok parodies? Ben Affleck, the internet’s so-called ‘Sad Batman’ looked utterly dejected playing the lead role in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the film famously drawing the ire of critics for months. 

Inexplicably subverting the source material for a trigger-happy protagonist (Batman normally avoids killing his adversaries), the sullen Affleck wasn’t altogether unconvincing, but the dodgy script and reported behind-the-scenes tension made the film a recipient for numerous Razzie awards.