Jake Gyllenhaal has opened up about his experience of losing out on the role of Batman in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.
Speaking on The Howard Stern Show (via Variety), he recalled the rejection, having made it to the final round of casting, before the iconic DC superhero role was eventually given to Christian Bale.
He also mentioned losing out on the role of Christian in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!, a role which went to Ewan McGregor.
Speaking on both experiences, Gyllenhaal said: “To [Nolan’s] credit and to Baz [Luhrmann’s] credit, both of those directors called me personally to tell me [I didn’t get the role].”
“And they will tell you why. When you get that far, there’s a real legitimacy to you potentially getting something. It’s not like they’re going, ‘Oh, thanks so much.’ They are going, ‘I saw these aspects of you that I really wanted in the role and are wonderful, but in the end I ended up moving this way because it matches better with this person who is opposite you or would be opposite you.”
He continued: “The colour of their hair or their height, whatever it is!! There are all these non-factors that really are the inexplicable stuff that if you start to pick away at it doesn’t work, it’s not healthy.”
The Prisoners star then recalled the exciting moment in which the Batman Begins director contacted him: “I remember getting a call from Christopher Nolan and thinking, ‘I just got a call personally from Christopher Nolan. That’s pretty cool. I’ve gotten pretty far.’”
He continued: “I went from them going, they aren’t sure [about me] to a call saying they’re really thinking about you for this movie. So okay, I should keep going. I should just keep going.”
Gyllenhaal recently shared that he’d still be interested in playing the Caped Crusader. He said on the possibility of playing the role: “Of course. It would be an honour always. Those types of things and those roles are classics.”