10 Actors From Classic Hollywood Who Could Have Played Superheroes

1. Batman/ Robert De Niro

De Batman Consistently the most fascinating superhero of all, Batman deserves to be portrayed by the best Hollywood has to offer. Although he arrived after Hollywood's Golden Age, I'm going to cheat a little bit and include Robert De Niro here since the thought of a Raging Bull era De Niro channeling his abilities into DC's Dark Knight gives me chills. De Niro has long portrayed characters who don't quite fit in, most noticeably in Taxi Driver where he plays Travis Bickle, who in an almost twisted take on superhero tropes, saves people who don't necessarily want to be saved. While filming Raging Bull, De Niro showed such an aptitude for boxing that Jake Le Motta thought he could do it professionally and he actually won several amateur fights that he entered while preparing for the film. De Niro might not be quite as convincing as the playboy incarnation of Bruce Wayne as he never really played a character quite like him. However, he has consistently shown himself to be an extraordinarily versatile actor so he should be able to pull off the few scenes needed relatively easily. De Niro combines both the needed physical attributes of the character with an unparalleled ability to get inside the heads of dark, psychotic characters. De Niro's interpretation of the Caped Crusader would likely be the most introspective, and intense incarnation of the character ever and it makes me a little bit sad that his prime years didn't coincide with the Comic Book movie explosion.
Contributor

I love movies, literature, history, music and the NBA. I love all things nerdy including but not limited to Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and Firefly. My artistic idols are Dylan, Dostoevsky, and Malick and my goal in life is to become like Bernard Black from Black Books. When I die, I hope to turn into the space baby from 2001: A Space Odyssey.