Christopher Nolan Forced Studio Execs to Watch Cillian Murphy’s Batman Audition So They’d Agree With Casting Him as Scarecrow Instead

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Cillian Murphy and Christopher Nolan’s working relationship started nearly 20 years ago when Murphy sought the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Nolan’s “Batman Begins.” In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, both men admitted to knowing that Murphy was not going to be the new Batman as early as their first conversation together about the role.

But that didn’t stop Nolan from wanting to screen test Murphy anyway. “When we had our first conversation I think both of us knew that you weren’t going to wind up playing Batman,” Nolan said. “But I really wanted to get on set with you, I wanted to get you on film.

We did those screen tests very elaborately, on 35mm, with a little set. There was just an electric atmosphere in the crew when you started to perform.” Although Nolan did not intend to cast Murphy as Batman, he set up a screen test for the role with the intention of getting studio executives on board with the idea of casting Murphy in the villain role of the Scarecrow. “We did two scenes — there was a Bruce Wayne scene and a Batman scene — and I made sure that executives came down and watched what you were doing on set,” Nolan said. “Everybody was so excited by watching you perform that when I then said to them, ‘Okay, Christian Bale is Batman, but what about Cillian to play Scarecrow?’ there was no dissent.

All the previous Batman villains had been played by huge movie stars: Jack Nicholson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Carrey, that kind of thing.