‘The Batman’ Cast Interviews | Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell And More!
The stars of "The Batman" including Robert Pattinson (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Zoë Kravitz (Catwoman/Selina Kyle), Colin Farrell (The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot), Paul Dano (The Riddler/Edward Nashton), Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon) and John Turturro (Carmine Falcone) discuss their DC movie in this interview with CinemaBlend Managing Editor Sean O'Connell.
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00:00 It literally took about a million takes to get that right.
00:03 They looked so awkward, you're like, "Oh, God!"
00:07 (upbeat music)
00:09 - So good to be with you both, how are you doing?
00:13 - Good, how are you doing?
00:14 - That is such a cool T-shirt.
00:15 - Vanguria.
00:16 - Is that like a Picasso Batman shirt?
00:18 - Oh, it's a Vanguria.
00:19 - It's a starry night.
00:20 - Oh, there you go, sorry, sorry, sorry.
00:20 - Amen. - It's my men.
00:21 - Starry night, Batman. - It's my men.
00:22 Come on, it's been a long day, Rob.
00:24 (laughing)
00:25 - Rob, I have to start with you
00:26 because the only scene in this movie
00:28 that made me literally cringe in fear
00:30 and turn away from the screen
00:31 was when Batman reached into a cage
00:33 with a live bat to retrieve a clue.
00:36 And I can't do that.
00:38 If that were my point in the movie,
00:39 I'd have said, "I'm sorry, it's over, I'm out."
00:41 - I'm leaving.
00:42 - Did you really do it?
00:43 And are you scared of bats at all?
00:46 - I'm weirdly not scared of bats.
00:47 - They're not scary, they're cute.
00:48 - They're kinda cute.
00:49 And I don't know.
00:51 - Minus COVID.
00:52 - Yeah.
00:53 - I don't wanna blame the bats for it.
00:54 - And that weirdly though, that scene was one of,
00:57 'cause it's one of the strangely difficult scenes
01:01 'cause the suit only allows you to move your arm
01:04 in a certain way.
01:05 And if you're at the wrong angle
01:06 and trying to twist your arm around
01:08 and do kind of delicate motor functions,
01:12 it's almost impossible to get the thing out of the cage.
01:16 It literally took about a million takes to get that right.
01:19 They looked so awkward, you're like, "Oh, God."
01:22 (laughing)
01:23 - This guy's crazy.
01:25 - It is a pleasure to be with you.
01:27 - Hey, Sean.
01:28 - I'm gonna start here.
01:28 Every time I tell a casual fan
01:30 that you were playing the penguin in this movie,
01:32 they refuse to believe that it's you.
01:33 When you are cast in a role,
01:35 but then they tell you that prosthetics and makeup
01:37 are gonna ensure that you are completely unrecognizable,
01:40 is that good or bad?
01:41 - I had never had an experience with it before.
01:44 I did a thing called "Horrible Bosses" once
01:45 and I had a bit of prosthetics on that,
01:46 but no, this was next level.
01:48 I didn't know when I signed on to do it.
01:50 I didn't know.
01:51 So I was already just in my own head
01:52 struggling with what I could do with the character
01:54 'cause it wasn't that many scenes,
01:55 but they were all really well drawn,
01:57 written of course by Matt, he's a wonderful writer.
01:59 But when I saw for the first time the design of Oz
02:04 that Mike Marino had so creatively and imaginatively,
02:09 you know, constructed, I just was blown away.
02:12 I was giddy with excitement, man.
02:13 I didn't know it would be as profoundly liberating
02:18 an experience as it was.
02:20 You know, I thought it might be a bit constricting
02:22 and, you know, but it'd be interesting.
02:24 But when I got inside it, man, it was just a blast.
02:27 I just felt like I was, you know, a puppeteer.
02:29 It just felt like I was just operating this thing
02:31 that was capable of going to places
02:33 that I might not have been capable of going without it.
02:35 You know?
02:36 (dramatic music)
02:37 (maniacal laughing)
02:40 - Gentlemen, it's so good to be with you.
02:45 Paul, this might be a weird question,
02:47 but I'm just curious if you were the one
02:49 who wrote "To the Batman" on the Riddler's envelopes.
02:53 - No, I think we tried my handwriting.
02:56 So, James Chinlan, the production designer
03:01 in his art department,
03:03 they were just so killer on this movie.
03:06 And also, Matt Reeves had put so much work into this movie.
03:09 I mean, when I arrived to get there,
03:12 I mean, there was tons of different iterations
03:14 of cards, of journals.
03:16 And then I got to have my input and have my voice.
03:20 And so it was a really wonderful combination
03:22 of a super specific, driven vision
03:25 while everybody having room to bring their own artistry.
03:28 But I don't think it's my handwriting, no.
03:31 - The Riddler is asking for you.
03:34 - The killer left this for the Batman.
03:36 Why is he writing to you?
03:37 - Bruce Wayne.
03:41 (dramatic music)
03:46 - Bruce Wayne.
03:49 - Sorry.
03:50 - I wouldn't be bothering you here,
03:51 but your people keep telling me you're unavailable.
03:54 - Rob, over the course of the film,
03:55 were you surprised at how little you had to play Bruce Wayne?
03:58 - It's funny, 'cause you don't really realize
04:02 when I first read the script.
04:04 I mean, it just didn't really register to me
04:07 that it's like, oh, wow, I'm Batman the whole time.
04:10 And it's also, but I guess the easy,
04:13 the one made it easy, he hasn't really figured out
04:16 where Bruce ends and where Batman begins at this point.
04:18 And now I'm telling him the story.
04:21 And so sometimes kind of Bruce is seeping out of Batman.
04:25 And there's a couple of scenes where I'm doing
04:27 kind of little subtle vocal changes.
04:30 I mean, sometimes, it's incredibly subtle a lot of the time,
04:34 but sometimes he's kind of more in Bruce's register
04:37 when he's Batman.
04:38 And 'cause he hasn't got full control
04:41 over the delineation yet.
04:43 So it actually kind of, it made it,
04:45 it was a little challenge, but yeah,
04:48 kind of interesting.
04:49 I don't think it had really been done.
04:50 And normally the only time you see Batman
04:51 is just before you get punched in the face.
04:53 [punching]
04:56 So that's kind of, so yeah,
04:58 to kind of, to play different shades was fun.
05:01 - Jeffrey, it was interesting to see Gordon
05:06 take a punch from the Batman.
05:08 What does it feel like to take a punch from the Batman?
05:10 It was actually very convincing.
05:12 - Well, yeah, I mean, you know,
05:16 well, Gordon, obviously, well,
05:19 without giving too much away,
05:21 it's a part of a larger plan.
05:24 And because I wanted to make it authentic
05:28 and we were going for this grounded thing,
05:30 I told Rob to really hit me, you know,
05:33 'cause, and so he did.
05:35 And it looks, that's why it looks so legit.
05:38 - Good moment.
05:40 - That's entirely untrue.
05:43 [laughing]
05:46 - To be surprised what even a good man is capable of.
05:50 - Mr. DeToro, I have to believe
05:51 you're the only Batman cast member
05:53 with a son who works at DC Comics.
05:55 And so I want to know what his reaction was
05:57 when he heard that you were playing Carmine
05:59 and what questions you might've had for him
06:01 or maybe what comics he handed you and said, "Read these."
06:05 - Amadeo gave me a bunch of the Frank Miller comics
06:08 and obviously we discussed it at length.
06:12 And he pointed me, Amadeo pointed me
06:17 in very specific directions.
06:20 So I wouldn't have done it without Amadeo's blessing.
06:25 - Has he seen your performance yet?
06:27 - Yeah, I'm really-
06:29 - Voter confidence?
06:30 - Yeah, yeah, really.
06:31 - Good, very good.
06:32 That's a tough review to get.
06:33 - Thumbs up, yes.
06:34 I'm relieved and very happy, so yes.
06:36 - You got a lot of cash.
06:39 - Never think about strays.
06:41 - Zoe, it felt to me like Selina, the character,
06:43 was giving a performance in almost every scene
06:46 that she's in.
06:47 And a lot of times her specific movements
06:50 mirrored the type of personality
06:52 that she was trying to put forward.
06:53 I was wondering if that's accurate,
06:54 that you really felt like you were playing her differently
06:56 from scene to scene.
06:57 - Yeah, I mean, I feel like Selina is a person,
07:00 she's a survivor and in order to survive,
07:03 I think she knows that she has to kind of morph
07:06 into what fits her environment,
07:07 which is something that we tried to do
07:09 with the different looks, the different wigs.
07:11 She acts and looks very different
07:13 depending on if she's at work, if she's alone,
07:14 if she's with Batman.
07:16 And I think one of the relationships,
07:20 or one of the things that Matt wanted to base
07:21 their relationship off of was Clute.
07:23 And the thing that he really liked about it
07:25 was that you really couldn't tell who she really was,
07:29 what her real intention is.
07:32 And so, yeah, she is this mystery to Batman specifically.
07:36 I think that's part of her allure.
07:38 - Selina, don't throw your life away.
07:40 - Don't worry, honey, I got nine of 'em.
07:42 (dramatic music)
07:45 - I've been trying to reach you.
07:49 - Burn to God!
07:50 - Paul, the prison confrontation that eventually happens
07:54 between you and the Batman is an instant all-timer.
07:58 I just wanna know how much time did you have
08:00 to prep for that scene?
08:01 Did you get several takes to go through it?
08:03 Did you shoot it early on in the process
08:04 or was it something you all built towards?
08:07 - It was originally meant to be
08:09 towards the very end of the shoot.
08:11 And then we had to shut down production
08:13 for about five months,
08:15 which I was sad about,
08:21 partially because, frankly, that scene meant so much to me,
08:24 and thanks for that,
08:25 but that you're hoping for some accrual of energy over time
08:30 going towards that destination.
08:33 So to have this break was interesting,
08:38 but then we came back,
08:39 and then it was early when we came back,
08:44 and it was actually because it was isolated.
08:48 We were one of the first major productions back,
08:51 so we actually started with a bunch of Riddler stuff
08:54 'cause it was kind of isolated,
08:56 and with the COVID stuff,
08:57 we were kind of dipping our toes back in, so yeah.
09:03 - This is about a king and brothers to match.
09:06 [buzzer buzzes]
09:07 - I'm sorry, your answer must be in the form of a question,
09:10 but thank you for playing.
09:12 - Colin, you worked with the great Joel Schumacher
09:14 on "Phone Booth" shortly after he wrapped his "Batman" run.
09:17 I was curious if he shared any war stories
09:19 back in the day with you on his time in that franchise.
09:21 - No, we, um, some war stories, yeah,
09:25 but nothing that I don't think he shared publicly.
09:27 I think that hurt him.
09:29 I know his "Batman" films and how they were received
09:34 really hurt him 'cause the only thing Joel,
09:35 honest to God, ever went out to do
09:37 was really to entertain people.
09:38 There's actually an apology,
09:40 I think you can find it on YouTube, that he makes,
09:42 and it was really almost upsetting for me to see
09:46 'cause I care about the man so much,
09:47 and he's such a wonderful man,
09:48 and he was apologizing to the fandom if he,
09:51 'cause he knew, Joel knew how important
09:53 this character was and is,
09:56 just in the same way Matt does,
09:57 but he just went down a route
09:58 that people weren't too happy with.
10:01 Matt, you know, Matt,
10:02 one of the most wonderful things about working with Matt
10:05 was his reverence, again, and his integrity,
10:08 and his desire to go back to grassroots
10:11 and the world of seeing Batman as an incredible detective,
10:14 as somebody who had a methodology
10:17 and was just at home in the stillness of a crime scene
10:20 as he was physically fighting crime on the streets,
10:22 you know, so, ah, yeah, Joel, he's gone on.
10:26 God bless him.
10:27 - A man's gotta go his own way.
10:29 A friend told me that.
10:31 - Jeffrey, when this movie ended,
10:34 after three hours, I was legitimately pissed.
10:36 I wanted to stay in this universe for three more hours
10:39 and just soak in the atmosphere that Matt has created.
10:42 I know they're gonna try to extend it
10:43 with this Gotham PD HBO Max series.
10:46 Are you part of that?
10:47 - I'm, right now, just focused on getting this film out
10:55 and excited for fans to see.
10:58 Is that a, like, is that a Batman,
11:01 the Bat-Signal-as-Starry-Night kind of vibe?
11:04 - It is a Starry Night Batman t-shirt, yes it is.
11:06 - That's super cool.
11:08 That's super cool. - Thank you very much.
11:09 - Yeah. - Thank you very much.
11:11 - Super cool, I've never seen that before.
11:13 - I like the way that you changed the topic
11:16 before I dug a little bit deeper into you.
11:17 - You're welcome.
11:18 - Joining the HBO Max series, well done.
11:20 How exciting is it to be able to continue Oz
11:22 on the streaming service,
11:23 something that is new to the industry,
11:25 but something that's becoming pretty prevalent?
11:27 - Oh, that's cool, really exciting.
11:29 Yeah, I mean, I just feel there's,
11:31 you can just go anywhere with this character, really,
11:33 you know, Oz, and again, to, I feel like, pardon the pun,
11:37 it was only the tip of the iceberg
11:39 what I had the opportunity to do.
11:40 I loved working on this film.
11:41 I was so greedy, I wanted more to do.
11:44 I was kind of a bit, "Humph," you know,
11:46 you can get miserable very quick
11:47 when you're as spoiled as I've been over the years.
11:49 And when I read the script for the Batman,
11:51 the script was extraordinary,
11:52 but I wanted more to do in it.
11:53 And the fact that I might get the opportunity to do more
11:56 is, you know, satisfies my greed,
11:58 and that's, let's face it, what it's all about.
12:00 - Ah, I got you!
12:02 (laughs)
12:03 I got you!
12:04 (dramatic music)
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