DC Batman Actors: Many Types of Bruce Wayne
DCs Bruce
Wayne: All Live Action Batman Actors
Through all of the years, there have been many movies and TV shows containing Batman. Obviously, Bruce Wayne couldn’t be played by the same actors for so many years, and thus, there have been many actors, too. We’ll go through a list of all the actors today, one by one.
Batman Actors in the 1900s
Lewis G. Wilson: DCs First Batman Actor
The very first Batman live-action movie named ‘Batman’ had Lewis Wilson as its main actor. It was released in 1943 and in black and white. The fifteen-chapter serial followed a fun storyline of Batman and Robin fighting a villain together.
Robert Lowery: The Sequel
When another fifteen-chapter serial, a sequel to the first Batman movie, came out; they didn’t take Wilson with them, but instead hired Robert Lowery to play Bruce Wayne. This sequel was called ‘Batman & Robin’ and followed a similar concept to the first.
Adam West: Batman After a Break
For seventeen years, there weren’t any Batman shows or movies, until 1966, when Adam West took on the role. A show and a movie aired around the same time about Robin & Batman fighting crime together. Both of these set a real ground for West, who became one of the most popular Batmans from this point on.
Michael Keaton: From Hated to Loved
When Tim Burton made the biggest budget version of Batman (even until this day), he chose Keaton to play the role of Bruce Wayne. Keaton was associated with comedies, and thus, fans couldn’t see him taking on the role of this serious Dark Knight. However, Keaton proved them wrong. Even recently, in the Flash movie, he returned with much excitement.
Val Kilmer: A One-Time Batman
After Keaton, Val Kilmer took on the role of the Dark Knight. However, he had already established quite a fan base by playing in many other franchises and thus playing Batman did not seem to work for him. Hence why, he left after only playing in ‘Batman Forever’.
George Clooney: Batman’s Almost Ending
In 1997 ‘Batman & Robin’ came to the big screen, this was a try to make a more light-hearted version of Batman. And while George Clooney did a great job at acting, the movie itself gained quite some controversy, making that Batman didn’t appear on the screen again until eight years later.
Batman Actors in the 2000s
Christian Bale: The Dark Knight
There were a total of three DC movies in which Bale portrayed the role of the Dark Knight. All three of these movies ended in quite a success. Especially ‘The Dark Knight’ is still a fan favourite and said to be one of the best comic book adaptations.
David Mazouz: A Young Bruce Wayne
Next to there being plenty of movies and TV shows containing an adult Bruce Wayne, there is also the show ‘Gotham’. This TV show doesn’t have Bruce as the main character, but he does show up later in the series. Here, he is only a teenager getting ready for his future as a superhero, played by David Mazouz.
Ben Affleck: Batman Actor in Many Movies
It could be said that Affleck is the DC Batman Actor who has played in the most DC movies, setting the count to five so far. He first started out in 2016, but even now still appears in newer movies, such as ‘The Flash’. Affleck’s version of Batman is very well-known, as he was the brain behind the Justice League.
Kevin Conroy: More Than a Voice
While Conroy was mostly known for voicing Batman in different animated movies and video games - voicing him in over 500 different things, he also portrayed the role in the big cross-over movie ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’.
Iain Glen: The Elder Statesman Batman
Iain Glen didn’t play Batman as the usual crime fighter. Instead, he portrayed him as an elderly statesman in the ‘Titans’ series. Where he was mostly added to show his connecting with the different Robins.
Warren Christie: Batwoman’s Batman
In a TV show where Batwoman took over Batman’s place, it was quite a surprise that Christie Batman showed up playing Batman (though to be fair, the first time he showed up in this series, he was a villain in disguise).
Robert Pattinson: The Newest Batman Actor
Another actor, who fans could not see playing Batman at first, was Pattinson. Yet, he won over the fans and the critics and is now a beloved Bruce Wayne. Most likely because of how much he draws his inspiration from the animated series, wanting to understand the character better. Pattinson is also said to return for a sequel to his movie ‘The Batman’.