Celebrity Parade With Jeanne Wolf

July 18, 2008 — -- CHRISTIAN BALE

Since Michael Keaton played the Caped Crusader, Christian Bale is the only other actor to return as Batman in a sequel. In "The Dark Knight" he got a kick out of driving the Batmobile and doing a lot of his own stunts. Christian told me why he didn't dare have fun with that famous line, 'I'm Batman:':

"I didn't giggle with that one, you know, because I find that I'm terrible. Once I start laughing I can't stop. I just went for it on the day. It's such a crucial line, but the way that I approached Batman is not as Bruce Wayne, pretending to be Batman. He BECOMES Batman. He BECOMES a different creature. So when you say a line like that, you know it can be done and it can fall very flat. It can be very cheesy. Or you can absolutely become like an animal, you know, like a creature and you can snarl it instead. And that's how I see Batman."

And that's why Christian's intense performance in a twisted rivalry with Heath Ledger's amazing Joker is ranked by many critics as the best Batman ever.

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL

Maggie Gyllenhaal takes over for Katie Holmes as Batman's girlfriend in "The Dark Knight." Maggie admits she wasn't expecting Christian Bale to take his role as the Caped Crusader so seriously – especially in the scenes where they get up close and personal.She says,:

"I find Christian to be very still and intense. We would always find ourselves still and kind of just staring into each others eyes and kind of ESPing each other and that was acting. And it was amazing. And very, very different than Aaron Eckhart who, you know, plays my other lover. Christian spent a lot of time by himself. Aaron and I would spend lots of time hanging out, talking, playing, joking when we would work together. Although, I adored Christian, I didn't spend as much kind of social time with him."

But Maggie wouldn't mind sharing the screen with Christian again if there's yet another Batman sequel. And I'm betting she'll get the chance.