SimplyAbuDhabi VII

2 6 4 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I C hristian Bale will never forget the first time he tried on the Batsuit. It was during an audition for Batman Begins and he was forced to don Val Kilmer's old costume. "It didn't fit me very well," recalls Bale with a laugh. But as far as discomfort is concerned, Kilmer's hand-me-downs were nothing compared to the first custom-fitted Batsuit Bale was asked to wear. As soon as he climbed into the rubber outfit, the actor freaked out at how body-hugging the contraption was. "I literally thought, `[director] Chris Nolan has to recast this role.' The claustrophobia was just unbelievable. I stood there and I thought, `I can't breathe. This is too tight. This is squeezing my head. I'm about to have a nervous breakdown or a panic attack right this second.'" Bale asked to be left alone for 20 minutes while he did his best to adjust. "I just stood there and thought, `I'd really like to make this movie. I'd like to be able to get through this moment here.' I just stood for 20 minutes by myself and then went back in and said, "Okay, let's just talk very calmly and maybe I can get through this.' " Needless to say, Bale wound up rocking the cape and cowl. By the time he shot The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final film in the series, he'd kicked his claustrophobia for good. Improvement "In the same way Bruce Wayne improves the suit, we improved the suit for ourselves and it became actually far more comfortable," notes Bale, 38. "Also that panic attack aspect of it was lost because I was able to rip it off myself if I ever did start seeing stars or couldn't breathe." Bale is, no doubt, happy he stuck with the Batman flicks. Though he has worked on other films including Rescue Dawn, Flowers of War and an upcoming Terrence Malick project – and won an Oscar for his turn in The Fighter – it's the Caped Crusader who's brought him his biggest hits. Suits you: ChristianBale interview Christian Bale had initial reservations about playing the Caped Crusader, but the Batman role has turned out to have a transformational effect on him BY AMY LONGSDORF