2. Michael Keaton
We’ve talked at length about how Bruce Wayne is often portrayed as the persona created by The Dark Knight to walk among the people and help Gotham in a different way, but Tim Burton’s Batman movies take something of a different approach – and that different approach required someone like Michael Keaton to bring it to the screen.
Keaton constantly finds himself atop of many “Best Batman” lists – and for good reason, his performance as the Caped Crusader is perhaps the greatest of all time – but we don’t take enough time to appreciate the beauty of his Bruce Wayne.
The truth is that Bruce is a very eccentric person. After all, he lives in a cave and dresses up like a Bat to fight crime. No other actor has captured that in the way that Keaton did. He portrayed him as something of an oddball – a refined oddball, but an oddball nonetheless – one who actually liked spending most of his time investigating the criminals he fought. He struggled with maintaining human relationships because of what the truth might do to them and normally preferred to keep himself to himself as he struggled to let others in.
As sad as it was, it seemed totally in character that this Bruce had become a recluse in the years after his career as Batman, but seeing Keaton get the chance to reprise the role again in The Flash just highlighted how great he was. It was an effortless return for him, that once again showcased the potential of his version of Bruce Wayne.
Everybody has their own eccentricities but none moreso than Bruce Wayne – something that Keaton captured beautifully.