Robert Pattinson has admitted that when he took on the role of Batman, he tried to change the superhero’s typical voice – but it didn’t go down well.
The actor, who stars as the caped crusader in director Matt Reeves’s The Batman, told the story during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday (16 February).
Pattinson said he had initially wanted go with a “radically different” voice from the deep, raspy ones that previous Batman actors have used.
“Everyone does this kind of gruff, gravelly thing, and I’m like, ‘I’m going to do the opposite – I’m gonna go really whispery,’” Pattinson said.
“And I tried to do it for the first two weeks, and it just looked absolutely atrocious, and they told me to stop doing it.”
Pattinson did eventually decide to speak in a low voice for the role, but he found out that Christian Bale had also tried to break the mould with Batman’s sound in Batman Begins. “If you listen to the first Batman Begins teaser trailer, you can hear the original voice,” he said. “I only found this out a couple of weeks ago.”
The Batman stars Pattinson alongside a supporting cast that includes Paul Dano as The Riddler, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and Andy Serkis as Alfred.
Filmmaker Reeves recently cited late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain as an inspiration for his Batman.
The director, who also wrote the film’s script and serves as a producer, mentioned Cobain’s struggles with addiction as a particular source of inspiration.
The Batman is out in UK and US cinemas on 4 March.
