The belated Ray Leotta revealed in an unedited interview that there was a moment in his career where Tim Burton wanted to hire him Batman. Liotta passed on the role because at the time he thought he was “fucking crazy” and “stupid”.
During an interview published by Deadline, the actor opened up about his incredible acting career, and there came a point where he said that Burton wanted to meet him for Batman. Liotta gave up the opportunity, though, and it’s one of the choices he regrets.
Oh, and yes… Burton was looking for him to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the movie. Talking about it he said:
“Something wild came out, so I was getting attention from that. My agent called me and said, ‘Tim Burton would like to meet you. He’s making a movie, Batman.’ There were never any superhero movies then. This was pretty much the first. I said, ‘Are you fucking crazy? Batman?!’ I’m saying, “No, that’s stupid.” Who was stupid? I was stupid because I didn’t know.
Liotta was one of many actors Burton looked to for the role of Batman. Some of the others included Mel Gibson, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck, AND Kevin Costner. Ultimately, Burton cast Michael Keaton after directing the actor in 1988’s Beetlejuice.
There was a huge backlash from fans surrounding that casting, but Keaton ended up winning fans over and is considered one of the best versions of Batman to have been brought to life.
It would have been very interesting and different with Liotta as Batman! It’s hard to imagine, but a casting choice that piques my curiosity. Liotta went on to have an outstanding career filled with great performances.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
