Imagine that you are a Hollywood actor and you are sitting quietly in your office when decide to throw an eye to the lot of scripts that have started to accumulate on your desk. Your agent has been calling you for hours but it's just about the interviews you have coming up. You open you a beer, sit back, and suddenly, it appears. A single sheet in which is read, in black capital letters. BATMAN.
The reasons why these ten actors didn't receive the role are all different, in some cases it just seemed like fate conspired against them, whilst in others, the reasons are a mite more clear. Without further ado, we present the ten almost-Batmen.
1 Jeff Bridges
Seriously, Jeff Bridges can be whoever he wants to be. He could play a plant for two hours, damn it, and we would still watch. He is one of those guys. He oozes charisma, personality, and an uncanny ability to devour every scene he's in.
Between the broad catalogue of options that Warner and Tim Burton shuffled through he was, obviously, the best. OK, so we ended up with Michael Keaton. That's okay. We're over it. But, just imagine Bridges saying the memorable words, "I'm Batman".
2 Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks was very nearly Batman in the first delivery of the saga released in the late 80s with 'Batman Forever', the sequel with which Joel Schumacher began to convert Gotham into a tacky circus.
Realistically, Hanks is one of the people furthest from Bruce Wayne that we can imagine in Hollywood, but I do admit it's tempting to imagine him fighting Alec Baldwin and Johnny Depp. But in the end we got Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer. Be thankful Tom Hanks.
3 Henry Cavill
If you can't be Batman, there's always Superman.
Hopefully, not all the Clark Kent fans were leaping for my jugular, we're just referring to the fact that Henry Cavill did indeed audition for 'Batman Begins'. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, the studio said: "No, thanks". Thankfully, Cavill went on to star as the titular character in 'Man of Steel', the Superman reboot.
Fate smiled, and now, thanks to the latest film, Cavill spends his time fighting the caped crusader.
That is poetic justice.
4 Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger, the incredible actor, reached his peak with a posthumous role that is already etched into the annals of cinema. His Joker, rather than just being the best of the masterpiece called 'The Dark Knight', remains one of the big screen's most amazing performances. Ever.
The reality, however, is that we almost missed his excellent portrayal, as Ledger auditioned for the role of Batman in 'Batman Begins'. We might have lost the best villain of the last decade, but we would've gained a hero to look up to.
5 Clint Eastwood
Yup, Clint Eastwood. It has been a few years since the rumor of that by the offices of Warner is was adapting Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Rises' to the big screen. The graphic novel tells the story of a Batman that is already retired, but is forced back into action due to the actions of Harvey Dent. This version of Batman is older and more vindictive, which would make it a perfect role for Clint Eastwood.
However, the studio that brought up the project didn't want to risk it.
6 Bill Murray
Bill Murray playing Batman? The guy in the photo above?. Is it a joke? Kinda. For a while director Ivan Reitman was going to direct a comedic parody of the whole Batman universe, and if it had been given the green light, would have the 'Groundhog Day' actor leading a cast of David Bowie as the Joker and Eddie Murphy or Michael J. Fox as Robin. Unfortunately the project didn't pan out. Shame really. We would have all paid stupid amounts of money to watch it.
7 Keanu Reeves
C'mon, Keanu, anybody in your situation would be happy simply being Neo. NEO. But no, the 'Matrix' protagonist saw Batman with the latest 'Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice', and desperately wanted to play the caped crusader. Unfortunately though, it never panned out.
Similarly to what happened with Reeves and 'Batman Forever', he will have to be content with being a fan in the seats in a cinema, like the rest of us, and continue to hope to get the opportunity to play the caped crusader.
8 Mel Gibson
The controversy that arose after Ben Affleck's election as the last film Batman was exaggerated, but it is nothing compared to the storm of insults and screams that could be heard when Tim Burton chose Michael Keaton as the first Batman that would appear on the big screen.
But, what is less known, is that Warner wanted to go with Mel Gibson instead. We don't know if the outcry would've been so bad if Burton had chosen Gibson instead, but I doubt it could've been worse.
In any case, the director and protagonist of 'Braveheart' had to say no as he had signed to shoot the sequel to 'Lethal Weapon'. Sorry, Mel.
9 Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy must've thought that being the best friend of Christopher Nolan would be enough to secure the role of the protagonist in the exemplary 'Batman Begins'.
Everything was rolling until it appeared the (we're getting into the head of Murphy) cursed Christian Bale came along and snatched the role right out from under him.
Unfortunately, the Scarecrow ended up being one of the weaker villains of the trilogy, but well... It was better than nothing.
10 Richard Armitage
In addition to being Thorin Oakenshield, one of the three characters whom had any sense of depth or emotional turmoil in the (very) disappointing 'Hobbit' trilogy by Peter Jackson, Richard Armitage, a notable British actor, was on the verge of being the Batman who would face Superman, thanks to Warner.
It was that studio, whom were responsible for the money making machine that was 'King Kong', that decided to revisit Middle Earth, and they seemed delighted to use Armitage as the hero of Gotham. Initially, a lot of fans supported the idea, but eventually, as we know, it was Ben Affleck whom got the job.