We've already talked up the other actors who were almost cast as Batman, and who would have sucked way, way more than Ben Affleck ever could, and now attention must turn to those actors who have already appeared in Batman movies. From the villainous to the virtuous, and the supporting roles stuffed between, the actors on this list have all been entrusted with the considerable responsibility of playing a character from the Batman universe. To various degrees, all have failed in one way or another. Considering the casting of Affleck has been suggested as the single worst thing to ever happen to the Batman franchise, it may come as some surprise to those hyperbole-spewing fanboys that their beloved franchise has been trodden all over by bad actors before, and there is no way Affleck's performance in the upcoming spin-off/sequel could do any more harm to the property than has already been done. Equally, there's probably very little chance he'll be able to pull of this sort of committed acting either... Now that is creative restraint. The moments collected here are the worst performance related tics, quirks and creative decisions by the actors themselves. They're the most distracting, the most embarrassing, and the most cringe-worthy performance related moments in the history of the Batman franchise, from Adam West onwards. Unlike bat-nipples and bat credit cards, the blame here lies solely with the actors (as well, perhaps as the directors who let them get away with it.)
Honourable Mention
All Of The Ladies... Almost There was a long period - pretty much from Burton's Catwoman to Nolan's Selina Kyle - when female characters in Batman movies were woefully misrepresented. They were either completed wasted, and turned into sex objects (like Nicole Kidman and Drew Barrymore,) or badly drawn walking innuendos (Uma Thurman,) or they were little more than representative of a narrative obstacle that Batman or Bruce Wayne had to overcome (Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal.) None of those acting talents, who have almost all proven themselves worthier talents than some of the male actors given far more substantial roles, were ever given the opportunity to actually do any acting, either demuring in the background, smoldering in the foreground, or being personified symbols that the audience could never wholly relate to as individuals. Strictly speaking, it was never actually their fault, given the scripting issues, but it's hard to ignore the fact that there was such a gaping hole where the female talent should have been for so long.