Top 25 Actors to Play Batman

With Ben Affleck wanting out of Batman and in turn the DC Extended Universe, people are asking the question on who should play him next. Well as a Batman fan myself, I decided to look into this myself and found up to 25 actors who I think can pull it off. What I'm taking into account here is that the actor must be able to be charming and charismatic as Bruce Wayne while brutal and tough like Batman and smart like the two of them combined. Its only actors who haven't played him at all and its actors who I believe can physically play him rather than just voicing him (sorry Conroy). Has to be at least adult age regardless of looks. Also because there are already characters like Batgirl and Batwoman that have been established in most forms of media, its largely an all male list (but always open to see any female leads for the Bat character in anything). And to be honest, I would just be happy to see any of these actors take on the role, but its ranked based on how much I want the actor in question to play the caped crusader. So grab your batarangs, your batmobiles and whatever else you need as we look at my acting choices for Batman:

25 - Tom Welling

He's played Superman (or more specifically Clark Kent before Superman) so why not have him as the caped crusader. He can be charming like Bruce Wayne and if the few episodes of Smallville I have watched have told me anything, its that he can probably pull off Batman too given that he's already played a superhero before. One thing I will mention is that even though this list is more on the DCEU Batman than a TV show Batman, I wouldn't mind seeing Tom Welling as an Arrowverse Batman. I think he could pull it off just fine.

24 - Johnny Depp

With superheroes being the only thing he hasn't played yet, Johnny Depp as Batman could be interesting. He can definitely do Bruce Wayne and something tells me that even though he will be known better as Captain Jack Sparrow, he could potentially show a darker Batman as if he isn't dark already. Interesting fact, he was once considered for the role of the Riddler in one Batman film, but I believe he turned it down or the film never came to be. Either way, he can pull it off, given his reputation as an actor and if you've seen any of his more darker films, that should be enough proof to say that he can do it.

23 - Brett Dalton

While probably more suited to playing him in the Arrowverse, Brett has shown at least in Agents of SHIELD that he can be intimidating and to a certain extent, scary. But can also be quite charismatic as well which would make him suited to playing the caped crusader should the role be given to him. So he can kick ass and be scary while doing so. Plus he's not afraid of doing some stunts every once in a while so its all good.

22 - Bradley Cooper

You may know him more for his roles in The Hangover films and can often be described as the comic relief in most of his films. However, while Bradley Cooper has been type casted as a comic relief sort of actor in many of his films, he too like say Jim Carrey, has shown that he can do serious roles as well as comedy roles. So how would he fit as being Batman. While he's got the Bruce Wayne side all there and seeing him in his action films has definitely given me confidence that he can play Batman too. Even though he's doing some work for Marvel as Rocket Raccoon, that's more voice work than anything else so he can easily switch sides any time he wants.

21 - Joseph Fiennes

Most people may be more familiar with his brother Ralph Fiennes (aka Lord Voldemort and the LEGO Alfred Pennyworth), but Joseph has done quite a bit of work himself. Personally I know him more for playing the title character in Shakespeare in Love, but I've seen him do other things to and honestly, he could do Batman. Sure he may not have the body for it right now, but he can work towards it and can also do Bruce Wayne too. You never know.

20 - Dominic Cooper

So another person I would consider playing Batman in either the DCEU or the Arrowverse is Dominic Cooper (aka young Howard Stark). I've seen many films of his and I can tell you that he can kick ass and be intimidating, while also being able to play a rich billionaire playboy. I know I might sound like I'm repeating myself when doing this list, but I've seen a lot of things these actors have been involved in and I'd say they can do Batman. Whether they get the role or not is another matter. But going back to Cooper, he can do it, I'm sure.

19 - Julian McMahon

One of the few good things about the first two Fantastic Four films (because they both have some good stuff in them even if the films are bad) is Doctor Doom and if anyone can play Doctor Doom as well as Julian McMahon, we definitely have a potential Batman in our sights. He can play a rich billionaire and can kick some ass and be pretty scary and intimidating. And hey, superheroes can be scary too, right?

18 - Colin Farrell

Given Farrell's acting career, there was a time where he was considered to play Batman and even Superman for an earlier version of Batman V Superman back in 2002 that never went anywhere. To be honest, having seen many of his films, he strikes me as more Batman than Superman because despite how he's often seen as a nice and funny guy, in some films he can be quite scary and intimidating which is perfect for Batman. He is a great actor all around and playing Batman could potentially give his career a boost by playing an iconic character like him.

17 - Matt Damon

For those of you that have been living under a rock for some time, Matt Damon is one of those actors who you don't really need to say why he should play Batman. He's basically done many action films that it pretty much shows how capable he is of playing Batman. He can kick some ass, he can come across as quite intimidating in the roles he has and can also do Bruce Wayne, but probably a different Bruce Wayne to what we're used to. And with the Bourne films having made him a big action movie star, he's definitely worthy of being Batman, on the big screen at least.

16 - Keanu Reeves

Reeves is another actor who was once known as a comedy actor before turning to an action star, following the Matrix films. Since then, he has done a number of films and he was among the first that came to my mind to play Batman. He's a very skilled and talented actor that can be serious and intimidating in his roles, but can also be very human too which could work well for if he plays Bruce Wayne. But as for Batman, yeah he can definitely be Batman, no question.

15 - Luke Evans

Luke Evans has done a lot of films and I've often seen him play villainous characters more than heroic characters. But in some way, that's a good thing because to play Batman, you need to have some experience at being a villain as Batman can be quite intimidating and scary (as I've mentioned a few times already in this list) so this would work well for Evans. He's a fine actor who has done many roles and in all that time, he can definitely fight, he can be scary and intimidating and if he were to play Batman, he would be a pretty scary one, but he can almost certainly do Bruce Wayne too.

14 - Andrew Lincoln

Having seen Andrew Lincoln in The Walking Dead, it shows his acting talent and also confirms to me that he is perfectly capable of being Batman, but a more mature one than young so he'd be more suited to the DCEU. He can definitely play tough, he can show no emotion and can come across as charming, but with a little bit of coldness. So yeah, he can definitely fit the bill for Batman and Bruce Wayne and with him being typecast as Rick Grimes (which isn't a bad thing per say), it would be nice to have him be known as another great character too.

13 - James Franco

So at first, I actually wasn't entirely convinced if James Franco can do Batman given that I often see him as more Bruce Wayne than Batman with him always acting as if he's a rich boy who knows how to party, but can be a bit of a dick at times too (no offence to him). But after re watching his Spider-Man films, I think he can do Batman as well as Bruce Wayne. It would be a nice change of pace for him as an actor, plus I'm sure with a bit of work, he can play tough and scary which can work well for Batman. We shall see.

12 - Nathan Fillion

You may know him for playing roles in Firefly and Castle, being the definitive voice actor for Hal Jordan's Green Lantern (in my opinion anyway) and often looking like Nathan Drake (though I suspect that was intentional on Naughty Dog's part). I'd say Nathan Fillion can do Batman. I mean he's often seen as the type of actor who takes no nonsense and absolutely hates chatterboxes, especially if they are dick villains like many of the ones in the Die Hard films. But anyway, he can do Bruce Wayne almost certainly and I'm pretty sure he can do Batman too. I mean the amount of times I've seen him act has shown me that he can be tough, but despite his charms, he can also be pretty scary too. So yeah, Nathan Fillion is another choice for Batman for me I'd say.

11 - Armie Hammer

So personally, I haven't seen many of Armie Hammer's films, but when I saw him in The Lone Ranger which isn't as bad as critics say it is, even though he plays a somewhat wimpy character, he does eventually become a pretty tough character who takes no nonsense. But is that enough to play Batman? Not really, but he has the body for it, he can charm people which is good for Bruce Wayne and visualising him in the batsuit, I think he would work well as Batman. Maybe more suited to being him in the DCEU, but could potentially play him in the Arrowverse too if it came to that.

10 - Ryan Gosling

While very unlikely considering his "no sequel" rule, Ryan Gosling was at one time considered to play the role of Batman. But it was because of his one rule that he declined the offer and honestly, I'd say he can do a very good Bruce Wayne and a very good Batman. I've seen a few of his films like Drive and Gangster Squad and seeing those films, made me believe that he could do a very good Batman. Like I said, its probably very unlikely he would, but I'd say he would do well in the role based on how great of an actor he is.

9 - Tom Hiddleston

A bit of an interesting choice I know. But even though Tom Hiddleston is known to crack a smile too often, I can definitely say that he can play serious roles when given the opportunity. I mean some of his performance as Loki was pretty serious and in some way scary for some people. So as Batman, he could work well. Bruce Wayne on the other hand, he can no doubt do. It will just take some work for him to build up to the possibility of playing another iconic comic book character and would not only have him switch to DC from Marvel (like Affleck), but would also have him be a good but a very intimidating and scary kind of guy. We shall see.

8 - Jake Gyllenhaal

With his sister having already been in Batman's world, Jake is already some of the way there to playing Batman. Seeing him in a number of films such as Donnie Darko, Source Code and the film adaptation of Prince of Persia (which actually wasn't too bad in the end), he can definitely be scary and somewhat twisted, he can definitely kick some butt and can no doubt be very charming. Maybe more so with all of that than the other actors listed here. But if he's jealous of his sister being in a Batman film, then why not be Batman. He could do it, I'm sure.

7 - Michael Fassbender

While he's more well known as young Magneto as well as his roles in the Alien films (and I'm including Prometheus in that) and the Assassin's Creed film (which I still haven't watched by the way at the time of doing this list), shouldn't all that show how capable Fassbender is with playing Batman? I would certainly hope so. I mean his Magneto showed how angry one can get, but can also show how emotionally hurt he can be. Plus he can kick some butt so really Batman is up his street and he wouldn't really be leaving Marvel if the films he is in, is just licensed out by Marvel to Fox. That's basically one way of looking at it. But on the Bruce Wayne front, yeah he can play him too. I'm sure.

6 - Tom Hardy

Yes he was Bane in The Dark Knight Rises and did a very good job of it while also changing areas of the character to make him interesting. And he also played a mad person called Max on a Fury Road which shows that he can kick some butt too. Basically anything that Tom Hardy is in, you know he will act very well. The fact that he is in many Christopher Nolan films, just proves how talented he is and if he can play tough like Bane, then he can almost do the same with Batman while also showing some charm as Bruce Wayne. I'm not too sure if I've heard an American accent come out of him, but he can do Australian so I'm sure American is in there somewhere too.

5 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt

He also appeared in The Dark Knight Rises and towards the end of the film, it was hinted that he could be the next Batman. Obviously that didn't happen when Ben Affleck got the role instead (though it would've complicated things if he did get the role), but seeing most if not all of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's work has shown that while he may not have the body for Batman (well not yet anyway), he can almost certainly pull it off. He can be dark and brooding and can kick some butt, but has some charms and in a lot of his films, you often see him playing what looks like a billionaire playboy so in other words, he can do Bruce Wayne too. And hey, given that Christopher Nolan is one of the executive producers for the DCEU, he would definitely be the first to put him forward. But we shall see.

4 - Josh Brolin

For a while now, Thanos in the MCU hasn't really been doing much. You see a couple of cameos in the mid-credits scenes of Avengers Assemble and Age of Ultron and he's seen for a little bit in Guardians of the Galaxy, but other than that, what is Josh Brolin actually doing with Marvel? Well now he's doing stuff with Infinity War having commenced its filming, but should Thanos be killed off, why not step into the Batcave? So seeing Josh Brolin in his films, he could very well play a tough Batman as well as a tough Bruce Wayne and can almost certainly show no emotions which helps for playing Batman. And I think if he played a good Batman, he can be forgiven for another DC film he did where he played a cowboy with a somewhat deformed face. It didn't do very well, though its probably not entirely Brolin's fault.

3 - Benedict Cumberbatch

There has been absolutely nothing that Benedict hasn't done yet. He's played a famous British Detective, a Star Trek villain, several Middle-Earth antagonists and a Avenger. So what's next in line for him? Well how about Batman? I mean he's shown that he can do anything when it comes to acting and with the films he's done, he can pretty much do Batman like its a piece of cake. No seriously. Watch him in all the films and TV shows that I have mentioned and you'll see why I consider him to play Batman.

2 - Idris Elba

So this one might show us a different Batman. I mean its never really been in question if the character should be of a different ethnicity though most people prefer what we've always seen Batman as. But anyway, regardless of that, we come to Idris Elba. Someone who has acted for a while and has shown how good he is at acting (and more recently started doing voice acting with Disney) so Batman should fit him quite well. Bruce Wayne I'd say he can do too. So he's my number two.

Before we get to my number one choice, some honourable mentions:

Honourable Mentions:

• Cillian Murphy
• Richard Armitage
• Hugh Jackman
• Jason Statham
• Tom Cruise
• Sam Worthington
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan
• Gerard Butler
• Ethan Hawke
• Liev Schreiber
• Lee Pace
• Jeremy Renner
• Robert Downey Jr

So my number one choice is:

1 - Karl Urban

Karl Urban may not be the first choice for many people when it comes to Batman, but after seeing his performance playing the title character in Dredd and seeing his other work, I'd say he can be Batman. Hell, he is Batman in my opinion. He can play a tough and brooding Batman as well as a very tough Bruce Wayne too. Karl Urban is the one I would go for when it comes to the caped crusader, but I'd say anyone of these men can play him. Some may need some work and some are more suited to playing him on the small screen than the big screen and vice versa, but if anyone should play Batman, my number one choice would be Urban. He is a fantastic actor and if you watch Dredd, that should be enough proof as to why he should play Batman.

So that's my list of people who should play Batman. Of course its in the hands of both Warner Brothers and DC so let's hope they choose well whether its for big screen or small screen entertainment. As always, leave comments below of your favourite actors.