TORONTO — Actor Josh Hartnett is downplaying his decision to not play Batman.
“It’s not a controversy,” the 36-year-old actor said Tuesday night in Toronto.
“Sometimes a story catches on with the media and they start to go nuts over it, and Google kind of amplifies that.”
Hartnett was asked by Damnit Maurie of The Roz and Mocha Show on KiSS 92.5 about his earlier expressions of regret for saying “no” to director Christopher Nolan, who was looking for a new Caped Crusader for 2005’s Batman Begins.
In an interview with Playboy, Hartnett said he turned down the role “because I was tired and wanted to spend more time with my friends and family. That’s frowned upon in this industry. People don’t like being told no.”
Last year, Hartnett told Details he was in talks about playing not only Batman but Spider-Man and Superman.
“I somehow knew those roles had potential to define me, and I didn’t want that,” he told the magazine. “I didn’t want to be labeled as Superman for the rest of my career. I was maybe 22, but I saw the danger.”
On Tuesday, Hartnett added to those explanations.
“At that particular time in my life I didn’t have an interest in playing any superheroes,” he said.
“It wasn’t something I wanted to do. That kid couldn’t have done that. Now, at a different time, it’s different.”
Hartnett admitted “I have the bone structure for Batman” but he balked at doing an impression of the Dark Knight.
“No, I’m not going to usurp Ben’s power,” he said.
Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill suit up for next year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
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