Christian Bale had a serious acting resume by the time the role of Batman came his way in 2005's "Batman Begins," but as a newly released video proves, he still had to audition for the role. Nevertheless, it's clear from the minute the camera rolled, he had it nailed thanks in part to his immediately distinctive voice: gruff, low, measured.
"(Bale) had decided that Batman needed to have a different voice than Bruce Wayne, that you need to put on a voice," says "Dark Knight" trilogy director Christopher Nolan in the video. "It was pretty logically thought out."
The clip, which was posted on YouTube Saturday and has already garnered more than 600,000 views, is part of "The Dark Knight Trilogy: The Ultimate Edition," released on Tuesday. The six-disc DVD collection features behind-the-scenes specials, including that audition tape.
And the video is definitely worth a view: In it, Bale wears Val Kilmer's suit from "Batman Forever," as Variety reported, and "Man of Steel's" future Lois Lane, Amy Adams, is reading as Rachel Dawes. Bale ultimately filled the Dark Knight's suit in three successful films (each directed by Nolan), while Dawes was played first by Katie Holmes ("Batman Begins") and then Maggie Gyllenhaal ("The Dark Knight").
Now we just have to wait a few years to see if there's a hidden audition tape for the next man to fit into the suit: Ben Affleck.