Pierce Brosnan may be best known for playing suave secret agent James Bond, but the dapper Irish actor almost filled the shoes of another famous fictional hero: Batman.
Unsurprisingly, Brosnan admitted during a Reddit AMA this week that he regrets turning down an offer to star as the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton's 1989 smash hit.
The “November Man” star was one of several big names — including Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and Bill Murray (!) up for the role that ultimately went to Michael Keaton.
“I went and met with Tim Burton for the role of Batman,” Brosnan revealed. “But I just couldn't really take it seriously, any man who wears his underpants outside his pants just cannot be taken seriously. That was my foolish take on it. It was a joke, I thought. But how wrong was I? Don't get me wrong, because I love Batman, and I grew up on Batman. As a kid in Ireland, we used to get our raincoats and tie them round our neck and swing through the bicycle shed…”
Brosnan probably got over it the second he signed on to play 007 in 1995's “GoldenEye” and three other Bond films.
He teamed with Burton several years later on “Mars Attacks!,” which also featured “Batman” co-star Jack Nicholson.
“November Man” opens August 27.
Would Brosnan have been a good choice to play Batman in 1989?