Every Live Action Batman Actor Portrayal In Chronological Order

Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman in 1939, one of the first superheroes in comic books, following Superman. What some younger fans might find surprising was that Batman made his way into movies a lot earlier than most heroes as well. The very first Batman movie arrived in 1943 with Batman.

Since that time, there have been several actors who have taken on the role of Batman in different movies, with many of them making drastic changes to turn the Caped Crusader into their own. It was in 1989 that Batman helped usher in the dark superhero movies, and that is where he has remained, with three major reboots in the last three-plus decades alone.

Lewis G. Wilson (1943)

Lewis Wilson was the first actor to play Batman in a movie. The movie was simply called Batman and was released in 1943. At this time in comic books, Batman wasn’t fighting many colorful supervillains like Riddler and Penguin, although Joker was around then. Instead, he fought basic mobsters and criminals.

This movie was a 15-chapter serial where Batman and Robin fought a villain called Dr. Daka, a secret agent from Japan in the days of World War II. He had no backstory and was a secret government agent. While Wilson was an actor for 30 years, his role as Batman was still his most famous.

Robert Lowery (1949)

Batman was back in 1949 with Batman and Robin. This was another 15-chapter serial and was a sequel to Batman, but the production replaced the actors, with Robert Lowery replacing Wilson as Batman. This time around, Batman and Robin battled a villain known as The Wizard.

Lowery started acting in 1936 and even appeared in the movie, The Mask of Zorro, in 1940. This is interesting trivia since Bob Kane and Bill Finger called Zorro an inspiration when they created Batman. Lowery moved on into western movies and then finished his career as a television actor.

Adam West (1966-1968)

Batman didn’t return until 1966 when ABC brought Batman to the small screen. In this series, Adam West played Batman while Burt Ward played Robin. The series was a campy look at the crime-fighting duo and ended up making way for Batman: The Movie in 1966.

Adam West was always known as Batman after this, and he capitalized on the popularity, appearing at conventions until late in his life. He also took on voice roles in other cartoons, using his Batman voice to remind people why he was a beloved addition to the Batman mythology.

Michael Keaton (1989)

In 1989, the biggest budget version of Batman to date came to the big screen. Tim Burton directed Batman and he cast Micahel Keaton in the role of the Caped Crusader. While many fans at the time hated the casting because he was best known for comedies, Keaton remains one of the most beloved Batman actors to this day.

Keaton appeared in two Batman movies, with Batman Returns arriving three years later. Keaton will be back this year in Flash, taking on the role of Batman again almost 30 years later.

Val Kilmer (1995)

After Tim Burton left the Batman franchise, Warner Bros. hired director Joel Schumacher to take his place. Michael Keaton also left and Schumacher replaced him as the new Batman director with Val Kilmer in the lead role of Batman Forever. However, Kilmer only lasted one movie.

Kilmer was a successful actor already at this point, with fan-favorite roles in movies like Tombstone, Top Gun, and The Doors. Kilmer and Schumacher didn’t reunite for the next movie, and the director went looking for a new Batman.

George Clooney (1997)

George Clooney was not the huge name actor that people grew to recognize him as years later. However, with Clooney joining the cast of Batman & Robin, Schumacher was able to create a lighter-hearted version of Batman, one that was intended to sell more toys.

In the years since the movie, Clooney has apologized for his portrayal as Batman. Chris O’Donnell said in the commentary for the DVD that they were making a giant big-budget toy commercial, and that marked the end of Batman on the big screen for eight years.

Christian Bale (2005)

In 2005, Christopher Nolan brought his version of Batman to the big screen and revitalized the entire franchise. Nolan cast Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and took the character back to the start, showing how Wayne became Batman in Batman Begins.

Nolan ended up playing Batman for three different movies, with The Dark Knight still considered one of the best Batman movies of all time, as well as one of the best comic book movies in history.

David Mazouz (2014)

One version of Batman that few actors talk about was David Mazouz’s role in Gotham on Fox. This is likely because he was not Batman for most of the series, and he wasn’t even the lead in the show. This was all about James Gordon working as a cop and the Batman villains rising in the background.

Mazouz was a teenage Bruce Wayne, watching the city around him and planning his mission to one day try to save the city. Mazouz is 21 and his only other major roles were in horror movies like The Darkness.

Ben Affleck (2016)

In 2016, Ben Affleck signed on with DC and took over the role of Batman for Zack Snyder’s launching of the DCEU. He made his debut in Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, where Affleck played Batman as a veteran crimefighter who had lost a lot in his life, including the death of Robin.

By this time, Batman was violent and on a path of destruction, but it also led to the formation of the Justice League. Affleck will finish off his role as Batman in The Flash after also appearing in Suicide Squad and Justice League.

Kevin Conroy (2019)

While Kevin Conroy is best known for providing the voice of Batman in various animated and video game properties, the actor did play a live-action version of Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse’s mega-crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths. In this version, Conroy plays the Bruce Wayne/Batman of Earth-99, who had been so broken by his work that he became a serial killer instead.

Conroy, for many viewers, remains one of the most definite portrayers of Batman ever, voicing him in over 500 appearances. The fact that he was able to portray the character once in live-action was a huge draw of the crossover.

Iain Glen (2019)

In Titans, the HBO Max series re-introduced the world to the titular heroes, with Dick Grayson’s former Robin as the man who helps bring the heroes together. By this time, Grayson hated Batman and was doing everything he could to not be like him.

When the show finally introduced him, Iain Glen portrayed Bruce Wayne. Fantasy fans know Glen as Der Jorah Mormont from Game of Thrones, and he brought an elder statesman personality to Bruce Wayne on Titans.

Warren Christie (2020)

Warren Christie got his start with TV shows like October Road, Happy Town, and The Resident. He then moved on to show up as Bruce Wayne in Batwoman on The CW. This was a surprising appearance since the show started with Batwoman taking Batman’s place when the Caped Crusader quit and left Gotham City.

When he showed up on Batwoman, he was taking on several roles as Bruce Wayne/Batman even though he portrayed Tommy Elliott/Hush in disguise.

Robert Pattinson (2022)

The most recent actor to portray Batman in a live-action movie is Robert Pattinson. Much like Michael Keaton before him, fans did not like the casting. This was because most people remembered Pattinson only from The Twilight Saga.

However, Pattinson has won over most fans and critics, as most people who watched his post-Twilight career should have expected. There is no word on whether Pattinson will be back for more Batman movies, but if the box office is any indication, he should be.

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