Like a capital M movie."
Paul Danohad several near-sleepless nights while filmingThe Batman.
The role took Dano to a dark place.
Paul Dano as Edward Nashton a.k.a. the Riddler in ‘The Batman.'.Jonathan Olley/DC Comics/Warner Bros.
“There’s a sequence with Peter Sarsgaard’s character [Gotham district attorney Gil Colson].
That was intense,” Dano tells EW.
It takes a lot of energy to get there.
Paul Dano.Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Another uncomfortable night was partially of Dano’s own making.
“He took off the mask.
He was beet red,” says Reeves, recalling that day on set.
Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano in ‘The Batman’.Jonathan Olley/DC Comics/Warner Bros.
Dano adds: “My head was just throbbing with heat.
It was like compressed from the sweat and the heat and the lack of oxygen.
It was a crazy feeling.”
But this is likely the kind of commitment Reeves expected when he cast thePrisonersactor as the Riddler.
“Paul is really a chameleon,” says theCloverfielddirector.
“He’s brilliant in so much.
But I think you see him going through a very internal tortured experience in his characters.
“I was totally surprised, frankly, that [the script] was so good.
“Bruce Wayne, as a child, experiences this trauma and the Batman is born of that.
And I thought that was really powerful in the script.
And I thought those gray areas were really exciting.”
Compared to the villains in previous Batman movies, the Riddler functions somewhat differently inThe Batman.
The focus had to remain on Batman.
Nevertheless, the Riddler does present a unique threat to the Caped Crusader.
“The Riddler is omnipresent, but almost as a ghost,” says Reeves.
“It’s funny to be in something that has this much fan culture and fervor around it.
And to my surprise, I’m really enjoying it,” says Dano.
Like capital M movie.'”
The Batmanopens in theaters March 4.
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