Cillian Murphy on why he was 'wrong' choice to play Batman in Dark Knight trilogy

Cillian Murphy doesn’t harbour any grievances against Christopher Nolan for losing the role of Batman Christian Bale.

The 47-year-old actor played the psychotic villain Scarecrow in the Dark Knight trilogy, however, it wasn’t the actor’s first choice for his introduction in the DC universe.

He originally auditioned to play the Dark Knight himself, which he soon realized wasn’t for him.

During an appearance on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast on Monday, Murphy recalled that he always knew he wasn’t the right choice. "So, that was 20 years ago. I think he'd seen '28 Days Later,' actually. We met up here in LA. He, for some reason, wanted me to screen test for Batman, which I think I knew, and he knew, I was wrong for. 

"And then he saw something in that and cast me as Scarecrow," said the actor.

When asked why he’d think that, the Peaky Blinders  alum said: "I don't think I'm the physical specimen to play Bruce Wayne."

"It wasn't right. It wasn't right. Imagine this, I'm getting to try on a suit, a Batman suit, on the Warner's lot, and do a screen test for Christopher Nolan. That's all my expectations were at the time," he explained.

The role eventually went to Bale, who remains one of the best actors to embody the sombre superhero to date. And luckily, Cillian Murphy agrees.

"He transformed himself into that role, and he's done it many many times," he raved. "I think he defined that role as Batman."

Murphy stars in the upcoming biopic Oppenheimer, his sixth film under the helm of Nolan.

Oppenheimer opens in theatres on July 21.