Why George Clooney advised Ben Affleck not to play Batman

George Clooney once had a heart-to-heart with Ben Affleck, from one Caped Crusader to another.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter Podcast, the Oscar-winning actor was asked about his time playing Batman/Bruce Wayne in 1997's Batman & Robin and how, years later, he warned Affleck not to take up the mantle.

"I actually did talk to him about it. I said, 'Don't do it,'" Clooney, 58, recalled telling Affleck, 46, who played the iconic superhero in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017). Both films were commercially successful but found unfavourable reviews in the press, particularly for Affleck, who officially exited the role this past February.

"It was only from my experience, which is, you know …" Clooney said of Batman & Robin, which was directed by Joel Schumacher. Clooney also talked "taking heat" for the film, which was largely panned by critics.

"[Arnold] Schwarzenegger was paid, I think, US$25 million for that, which was like 20 times more than I was paid for it, and, you know, we never even worked together! We worked together one day. But I took all the heat," Clooney said. He also admitted that as Batman, he "wasn't good" in the film, and that the project itself "wasn't a good film."

"But what I learned from that failure was, I had to rethink how I was working. Because now I wasn't just an actor getting a role, I was being held responsible for the film itself."

These days, though, Clooney is riding high off the success of numerous film projects and has the all-new World War II TV drama Catch-22 (which will air on Stan), for which he stars, directs and executive produced.

As they say, time heals all wounds!

Catch-22 arrives on Stan on May 18.