Michael Caine’s Alfred brought a lot of emotional weight toThe Dark Knight trilogy. Now, the veteran Oscar-winning actor has explained how he was convinced by Christopher Nolan to take on the iconicBatmanrole.
The Dark Knight trilogybecame a critical and box office success (collectively grossing over $2.4 billion), and thoseBatmanfilms are now regarded as one of the greatest trilogies in film history that also redefined the superhero genre. A large portion oftheDark Knightpraise goes towards the performancesand the talented actors who filled the roles. Out of all of the characters, there was one who became almost the heart and soul of the whole trilogy: Alfred.
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In a Q&A with Variety, Caine opened up about the first time he met Nolan, and how the acclaimed director convinced him the role of Alfred would not be a forgettable one. After a simple knock on the door from Nolan, Cain recalled “standing there with a script in his hand and he said he was a director of movies. He said, ‘Can I come in?’ And he said to me, ‘I want you to play the butler in ‘Batman.’ So, I said, ‘The butler? What do I say, ‘Dinner is served?’ He said no, he was the godfather of Batman and it’s a much bigger part.” Caine said that was the first thing he remembered about Nolan.
And Nolan was right. Caine’s Alfred became almost like a central character in the trilogy, having far more character depth than any past Alfred depictions. The father-figure role he had onChristian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batmanand the loyalty and mentorship he brought created some of the most emotional scenes in the trilogy that immediately became loved by fans. The character first made his leap from comic books to the big screen in Adam West’s 1966Batman, in which he was portrayed by Alan Napier. Alfred continued through Tim Burton’s 1989Batmanand 1992Batman Returns, this time with Michael Gough offering his take on the role. FollowingThe Dark Knighttrilogy, Jeremy Irons took over the role in DCEU universe, first appearing in 2016’sBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and now Andy Serkis will play the character in Matt Reeves’ highly anticipatedThe Batman(separate from other DCEU films), which will make its way to theatres in 2022.
Caine added that playing Alfred was “absolutely fantastic” and that Nolan’s expertise in filmmaking helped build and shape the role. “The thing about Nolan is you don’t always know what’s going on in the scene,” Caine told Variety. “And you ask him, and he says, ‘I’ll tell you after you’ve done it.'“Batman Beginsmarked the startof a new film duo, as Caine has now been a part of every one of Nolan’s unique, complex movies since.
Fans can catch Caine inNolan’s most recent filmTenet, a mind-bending espionage thriller that also stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Nolan, in the meantime, has stepped away fromBatmanand DC films altogether.
