Christian Bale has revealed his dissatisfaction for his performance in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, saying he "didn't quite nail" the iconic role.
The actor said that Heath Ledger's scene-stealing performance as The Joker "completely ruined" all of his plans, and made Batman less interesting in comparison.
Speaking to Yahoo Movies, Bale said: "Heath [Ledger] turned up and just kind of completely ruined all my plans. I went, 'He’s so much more interesting than me and what I’m doing.'"
Ledger went on to receive a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance as The Joker.
Heath Ledger as The Joker
Bale admitted that it wasn't the strength of Ledger's performance that hindered him, but his own lack of satisfaction, explaining: "I didn't quite manage what I hoped I would throughout the trilogy. Chris [Nolan] did, but my own sense of self is like, 'I didn't quite nail it.'"
The British star added that he hoped to depict the caped crusader as a psychologically damaged character, but didn't quite pull it off, saying: “Batman, he’s this very, very dark, messed-up character. I found when I put on the suit I went, ‘I just feel like a bloody idiot if I don’t use this as a means to (show) his true, monstrous self that he allows to come out in that moment.’”
The upcoming superhero movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is due to be released on March 25, with Ben Affleck taking on the role of the new dark knight.
