In the early stages of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the role of Scarecrow almost went to Robert Downey Jr. Instead, Cillian Murphy took on the iconic Batman villain. Downey, reflecting on the audition, recounted meeting Nolan for the role but sensed the director’s lack of enthusiasm during the meeting.
“I’m pretty sure I heard about [this role] and I was like, ‘I’m Scarecrow,’ and then I remember meeting [Nolan] for tea, and I was like, ‘He doesn’t seem like he’s really in on this interview,'” shared Downey during a recent Q&A session. Despite his initial interest, it became apparent that the role wasn’t going to materialize for Downey.
Interestingly, before taking on the role of Scarecrow, Murphy had auditioned for the part of Batman. Reflecting on the experience, Murphy acknowledged that he never considered himself suitable for the role of Bruce Wayne. Instead, he saw himself better suited for the character of Scarecrow.
“I had seen Chris’ movies prior to Batman Begins, and I was a huge fan of them,” explained Murphy in a previous interview. “About 10 of us went up for Batman, and I was aware that I was clearly not the right material for Batman.
So I did a screen test in the whole suit and everything. But Chris said there might be another part. So we met and we chatted, and I ended up playing Scarecrow in the end.”
In the realm of superhero casting, the paths that lead actors to iconic roles often involve unexpected turns, and in this case, it was Cillian Murphy who ultimately brought the character of Scarecrow to life in Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
