LOS ANGELES
Photo Courtesy: Hello Magazine
George Clooney advised Ben Affleck to not take up Batman role
While opening up about learning from his mistakes, George Clooney admitted that 'Batman & Robin' wasn't a good film. Before completely transforming into a heart-throb and earning an impressive list of movie credits, which include 'Three Kings', 'Out of Sight', 'Ocean's Eleven' and 'Catch-22', Clooney was subjected to a lot of criticism after he featured as the caped crusader in 'Batman & Robin'.
During a recent interaction with The Hollywood Reporter, the star recalled being held responsible for the performance of 'Batman & Robin', even though the film also featured Arnold Schwarzenegger in a pivotal role.
He also mentioned that Schwarzenegger, who played the role of a bad-to-the-bone villain in the film, was paid "20 times more" than what Clooney got for the film. "Schwarzenegger was paid I think it was $25 million for that which was like 20 times more than what I was paid for it," he said
Despite being paid more, it was Clooney who "took all the heat" for the failure of the DC Comics-based movie. The actor admitted that he wasn't good in the film. "Now, fair deal: I was playing Batman and I wasn't good in it, it wasn't a good film. But what I learned from that failure was that I had to relearn how I was working. Now, I wasn't just an actor getting a role, I was being held responsible for the film itself," he said.
Looking at the silver lining, Clooney said that the failure helped him make better choices. He became more careful about the films and roles he picked for himself. "So the next three films I did were 'Three Kings', 'Out of Sight' and 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. That was a very specific choice for me to find better projects," he asserted.
Released in 1997, 'Batman & Robin' follows Batman and Robin (played by Chris O'Donnell) as they attempt to stop Mr Freeze (played by Schwarzenegger) before he freezes all mankind to death. The film was slammed by audience and critics, shortly after it was released.
Learning from his experience, Clooney revealed that he even warned his friend Ben Afflek against playing Batman in the 2016 film 'Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice'. However, he thinks Affleck did a great job.
