10 Actors Almost Cast As Batman (Who Would Have Sucked Way More Than Affleck)

8. Ethan Hawke

Back when Joel Schumacher was still considered a good option to replace Tim Burton on the franchise, the studio was scouring the known world for an actor to step into the boots of the excellent Michael Keaton, and the shortlist they drew up included Hawke, who had made some waves with Dead Poet's Society, Alive and erm, White Fang.

Ultimately, Val Kilmer was cast, and Hawke, who apparently turned down the opportunity, went on to make Before Sunrise, and endeared himself to every romantic cinephile on the planet.

Why It Would Have Sucked

Somewhat incredibly, Hawke actually turned the role down because he thought it would hurt his acting credibility. That's Ethan Hawke, star of such classic movies as Chelsea Walls, The Velocity Of Gary and Getaway.

Now, don't get me wrong, Hawke is a good actor... in about a tenth of the films he actually stars in, which is about half the amount that you will be aware of actually existing (seriously, check his IMDB page, the man makes more films than Michael Madsen.) That he had the audacity to turn Batman down, considering some of the things he has gone on to make is just baffling, especially as there's a good chance - simply looking at his success rate - that he would have sucked in the role.

Because for every Training Day, or the Before... series, there's invariably a couple of stinkers, or something criminally mediocre sandwiching it.