Featuring interviews with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Mike Myers, James Earl Jones, Kirsten Dunst, Hugh Jackman, Jessica Alba, Vivica A Fox, Bryan Singer and Stan Lee, Bravo’s “Ultimate Superheroes,” “Ultimate Supervillains, and “Ultimate Supervixens” presents the Top 20 favorites in each of the categories [see the lists at the end of page two of this article]. The characters included on the Top 20 lists represent characters who have become part of America’s pop culture and have, as Bravo defines it, that special ‘cool factor.’
In support of the Bravo special, Adam West (an actor who will always be recognized for his three seasons spent playing a superhero on TV) participated in a conference call to talk about his years playing an iconic character. West fondly recalled his time spent in the Batsuit as he spoke about the “Batman” TV series and the “Batman” movies, including “Batman Begins” directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale and Michael Caine:
Adam West on Playing Batman: “They were long hours and the Batman was a nut, and in order to play Batman I had to kind of pretend that I fought crime 24 hours a day so that took a little concentration on the job at hand. But it’s pretty gratifying that this reached this kind of pop culture level.”
West’s Personal Favorite Supervillain: “Well you know out of pure loyalty I think a favorite villain would have to be Batman’s nemesis, The Riddler, or possibly Mr Freeze [played by] the late George Sanders. And vixen? I can’t insult any of them… They’re waiting for me right now (laughing). I don’t know who it would be.”
On Crazy Fan Experiences: “Well I guess like anything that hits big and is the flavor of the year or two or three, you really can’t go anywhere without some kind of incident. I always tried to turn them into something fun and funny and, you know, not being afraid of people. There were those who came in the windows and that got to be a little frightening…”
The “Batman” Movies Taking Things Seriously and Foregoing the Humor of the “Batman” TV Series: “Yeah, I’ve always, as you can see from our older movie and from the series, we’ve always tried to bring some kind of absurdities to it. You know, tongue in cheek laughs. I think that’s possibly missing from the newer movies. I know that the newest one, the one that’s about to be released, has a little bit of a different approach but they can do that because it’s a different generation of Batman, the beginning.”
Adam West’s Take on Batman: “Well because of, you know, the backstory, he’s just somebody who is an ordinary human being who because his parents were murdered in his presence as a child, he becomes someone who wants to pay it back and get rid of anyone who might try or do the same thing. I think as far as a vigilante, he could be considered a vigilante, yes. I think he’s more fearsome than the guys down on the Mexican border now who are called vigilantes by some. But you know, it’s just all part of the myth, the legend, the story.”
Adam West’s Advice for Christian Bale: “I think the best thing I can say is – and I hear he’s very good as an actor – is just don’t get your cape caught up in the wrong places. …But things will change because Batman is such a huge, iconic character and he’s been around for so long in the public consciousness that he will be many times perceived as Batman. I think if you have a good sense of humor [that helps].”
PAGE 2: Adam West on the "Batman" Movies and the Darker Side of Batman
