Christian Bale Gets Advice From ex-Batmen

Christian Bale, who plays Bruce Wayne/Batman in the upcoming Batman Begins, got the number one spot and the cover of Entertainment Weekly's annual Summer Must List.

Profiling the actor, the magazine talked a bit about his casting in the much-anticipated revival of Warner Bros.' Batman franchise.

"What attracted me was [director] Chris [Nolan] and the knowledge that what was being aimed for was a reinvention of the Batman Lore," Bale told EW. So is Bale a super-hero fan? Not exactly. "I like scary movies. And as a kid I liked to take walks in the woods at night after a scary movie to see if I'd get hairs standing up on the back of my neck," he told the magazine.

At 30, Bale is the youngest actor yet cast as the Dark Knight. "One of the reasons I cast Christian Bale is because we're dealing with an origin story," added Nolan. "The mission was presenting the psychological growth of Bruce Wayne from a young man into Batman."

There'll be more focus on Wayne than previous movies, Bale said. And the film will be much darker than previous films, he said. "Batman's not a knight in shining armor, because of his personal need for revenge. There's a great struggle within him not to enjoy what he does too much." There'll be no rubber nipples or camp fare as has marked previous films.

Advice from earlier Batmen: George Clooney - "Early September in a Batsuit is a living hell." Adam West - "It's important to be very careful about your cape. Don't use it for sexual high jinks. It can get ugly. Trust me. Also, be careful when flushing. And, um, be mindful of the parking meters with the Batmobile. They're everywhere."

To which Bale replied: "It sounds like he's still playing Batman, doesn't it?"

If you want a sense of Bale's ability to play dark, driven characters rent the under-rated sci fi actioner Equilibrium or the urban horror flick American Psycho.

Batman Begins debuts June 17, 2005.