Cillian Murphy knew he wouldn’t play Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins

Batman Begins actor Cillian Murphy happened to audition for the lead but knew he wasn’t “Bruce Wayne material.”

Before Batman Begins relaunched the Dark Knight as a film franchise, the search was on to find the next Caped Crusader with a darker edge. Josh Hartnett and Jake Gyllenhaal were among the actors eyed at the time but when Christian Bale auditioned the rest, as they say, was history.

But there was one other actor who screen-tested for the part of Bruce Wayne/Batman and, though he didn’t land that role, he did get cast in the film and its sequels. That person is the portrayer of The Scarecrow (a.k.a. Jonathan Crane), Cillian Murphy.

Murphy’s Law of Auditioning for Batman Begins

The process began in 2003 and was often considered neck-and-neck between him and Bale. Looking back almost 20 years hence, Murphy tells The Hollywood Reporter that he never believed he was getting the part or right for it. “I don’t believe I was close to landing that role,” Murphy said.

And he agrees with Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. ultimately choosing Bale. “The only actor who was right for that part at that time, in my estimation, was Christian Bale, and he absolutely smashed it,” Murphy added.

In all, the Irish film star is happy with the way everything turned out after he was cast as Crane. “So, for me, it was just an experience, and then it turned into something else,” he said. “It turned into that character, Scarecrow, and it turned into a working relationship with Chris.”

Bruce Wayne material

That working relationship with Nolan didn’t just put Murphy in two more Batman films. He also found himself in the cast of Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio and the historical war movie Dunkirk.

However, while Cillian Murphy wound up with a prolific career that boasts many talked-about films and TV shows, he insists he was never “Bruce Wayne material.” Murphy emphatically said:

"“So I think back very, very fondly on that time, but I never, ever, ever considered myself Bruce Wayne material.”"

He might not be but, fortunately, he stuck around long enough for everyone to see him become the villain in the Dark Knight trilogy and cult classics such as Wes Craven’s Red Eye. But in case you wonder what could’ve been, Murphy’s screen test is still on the Internet for viewing.

Murphy currently stars in the series Peaky Blinders and this year’s hit horror movie A Quiet Place Part 2 directed by John Krasinski. He also started a show for BBC Radio called Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition.

Do you share Cillian Murphy’s opinion on being right for Bruce Wayne? Or would you have liked to see him make the attempt at Batman? Also, how fondly do you look back at Batman Begins all these years later? Tell all in our comments.