Ever step out of the house and immediately regret your outfit choice for the day? Well, how do you think The Batman star Paul Dano felt when he faced the reality of his bizarre costume choice to make his iteration of The Riddler as authentic and creepy as possible. Apparently, the actor’s decision to wrap his entire body in plastic wrap, was something he regretted almost instantly. Who would have thought that was a bad idea?
The brilliant actor plays Batman villain The Riddler in Matt Reeves‘ upcoming superhero detective movie, facing off against Robert Pattinson‘s Dark Knight in the latest instalment in the DCEU. Not one to shy away from a bit of method acting and adding authenticity to a performance, Dano came up with the idea of wrapping his whole body in plastic wrap under his costume, but found this came with a lot of issues.
The thinking was that The Riddler would do this to avoid any DNA evidence leaving his body at a crime scene; a very smart, villainous move, there’s no doubt about that. But practically speaking, not the best idea.
The new Batman movie is a decidedly darker version of Gotham City and the Caped Crusader than we have ever seen in live-action before, and Dano certainly wanted to ensure his performance met this standard. But the actor described the costume idea as “a slightly regrettable choice.”
“I thought, well I’ll wrap myself in some cling film and see if that will cover up any DNA evidence, and I quickly learned that was a slightly regrettable choice,” Dano explains to Good Morning America. “My head was throbbing, and the sweat couldn’t escape from my body, but then we learned to work with it, and I think it’s got a nice effect,” he adds.
So, regret it or not, Dano and the crew remained committed to the approach and found a way to make it work. The actor has had his fair share of problems with the role, admitting recently he found it difficult to sleep, too.
Here's the GMA interview with Paul Dano, promoting The Batman!
He addresses some of the click-bait articles that have been going around regarding his performance. pic.twitter.com/q0KCTT3xeH
— The Art of The Batman (@thebatfilm) February 24, 2022
But, by the sounds of the critical reception, it may have all been worth it if Dano goes down in history as one of the great Batman villains. The Batman is released in cinemas on March 4, 2022.