Corona | Coming Attractions

Audiences may now see Christian Bale as the modern day Batman but before his first outing as the Dark Knight, Bale was petrified of stepping into the cape and cowl. In fact, when he slipped on the Bat-suit that Val Kilmer wore in 1995's Batman Forever to audtion for the part, Bale had a severe panic attack.

"I think the very first time I put on the suit it was at the audition. It was Val Kilmer's so it didn't fit very well and the claustrophobia was just unbelievable," the 38-year-old told Parade magazine.

"I stood there and I thought, 'I can't breathe. I can't think. This is too tight, this is squeezing my head. I'm about to have a nervous breakdown. I'm about to have a panic attack.'"

Christian Bale is considered a method actor, so maybe it was his mind launching into overdrive, imagining his voice sounding like a mouthful or marbles or something.

So if he was this nervous auditioning for the part while wearing the suit, how did he land the Batman Begins job?

"I asked for 20 minutes by myself... and I stood there and thought, 'I'd really like to make this movie.' I have to get through this moment," he related.

Bale also explained that the new technology that made his own Dark Knight Rises Bat-suit doesn't quite live up to the reality. "When it gets cold the cowl is extremely tight, and it gets better the warmer I get it; it becomes more flexible," said Bale to Empire magazine. "But, after a couple of takes, I was trying to breathe properly in my nose. I was starting to see stars and I said, 'I have to take this off.'"

Can Val Kilmer be reached for comment on his experience wearing the Batman Forever suit?