The iconic role George Clooney regrets the most
Undoubtedly among the most successful actors in Hollywood, George Clooney established himself as one of the industry’s most appealing leading men on the back of films like Ocean’s Eleven. In addition to commercially successful blockbusters, Clooney has also demonstrated his acting skills in critically acclaimed gems by pioneering filmmakers like the Coen brothers. However, even for an actor of his stature, missteps are almost inevitable.
Over the course of his trailblazing career, Clooney has appeared in several lacklustre projects, such as Return of the Killer Tomatoes and Leatherheads, that have been negative additions to his oeuvre. But despite the multiple duds, there’s one particular movie that Clooney considers to be the worst mistake of his professional life. His regret for the role is so great that he still mentions it in new interviews, even though it’s been almost 30 years.
Titled Batman & Robin, many fans thought it would be the beginning of a new chapter when it was announced that Clooney was set to play Batman in the 1997 superhero flick. Not only did it end up as a huge disaster, but Clooney also got the honour of being able to claim that he was a part of one of the worst movies in the history of the medium. Over the years, he has repeatedly apologised for tarnishing the legacy of the role.
During a surprise 2014 appearance at Comic-Con, Clooney revealed that he was never invited to the extremely popular event because of what he did as Batman in Joel Schumacher’s critically panned work. He explained: “I think since Batman that I’ve been disinvited from Comic-Con for 20 years… I just met Adam West there, and I apologized to him. Sorry about the nipples on the suit. Freeze, freeze, I apologise for that.”
More recently, The Guardian asked Clooney about what decisions he regrets about the first half of his career, and the actor didn’t hesitate to cite Batman & Robin almost immediately. While reflecting on the professional decisions that made a huge dent in his reputation, the star of the beloved Oceans franchise said: “Now, the obvious answer to your question would be to joke, Batman & Robin. And I wouldn’t do it at all.”
In 2021, Clooney denied reports that he was associated with the upcoming movie The Flash: “When you destroy a franchise the way I did, usually they look the other way when The Flash comes by.” However, to everyone’s surprise, he ended up having an uncredited cameo as a version of Bruce Wayne in the 2023 Andy Muschietti film.
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