Robert Pattinson’s ‘Pirate-y’ Batman Voice Found Inspiration From One Of His Recent Co-Stars

Before Todd Phillips’ Joker was released into theaters, which was only earlier this month even though it feels like it’s been out for years, a video of the Clown Prince of Crime’s laughs from over the years went viral. There’s Cesar Romero’s full-bodied howl in Batman and Heath Ledger’s creaky cackle in The Dark Knight and, if we must, whatever the heck Jared Leto was doing in Suicide Squad. An actor playing the Joker is only as good as his laugh (Joaquin Phoenix wanted to get his just right), just as an actor playing Batman is only as good as his Batman voice. It’s a reflection of the project, where the voice must match the tone: Christian Bale, for instance, sounds like his vocal cords were pelleted with gravel to pair with the intense grittiness of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.

Robert Pattinson, who was picked to play the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, was recently asked about his Batman voice. He sadly didn’t bust it out, like Ben Wyatt on Parks and Recreation, but the High Life star did reveal where he found his inspiration: Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse, the new A24 horror movie from director Robert Eggers where Pattinson and Dafoe play increasingly mad lighthouse keepers. “Willem’s voice in this is quite inspiring for it, to be honest,” he said. “It is pretty similar to the voice I’m gonna do… I think Batman has a sort of pirate-y kind of voice.”

Leaving the “pirate-y” thing aside, I’m tickled that Robert Pattinson, who turned into an international star for playing a sparkly vampire, discovered his Batman voice from Willem Dafoe in a movie where he, the ex-sparkly vampire, ferociously masturbates. Movies: they’re good!