The Odyssey star Matt Damon has recounted a time back in the beginning of his career where he auditioned to play Robin in not one, but two different live-action Batman movie projects.
Speaking with host Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Damon first discussed auditioning for the Robin role during Tim Burton’s time at the helm of the films.
“I remember that we didn’t have sides,” said Damon, referring to the short excerpts of scripts provided to actors to perform during auditions. “It wasn’t like you’re reading a scene with Batman. It was so secretive that it was, like, you’re reading this other scene from some other movie.”
Robin ultimately never appeared in either of the two Tim Burton Batman movies, but this initial audition actually wasn’t Damon’s only brush with The Boy Wonder.
“Then, subsequent to that, in ’93, I got screentested; I was one of the final three to play Robin in the George Clooney [and] Joel Schumacher Batman,” continued Damon.
“I remember Chris O’Donnell already had the part, but they were haggling over money. So the studio was flexing, basically, by flying in two other people to screen test, but they wanted Chris – but they just wanted him for a price.”
Damon clarified he knew O’Donnell at the time.
“I remember calling up and I was, like, ‘I’ll work for a quarter of what that dude’s working for,’” he laughed. “I was like, ‘I want the job!’ Yeah, I flew in and auditioned for Joel, but I think they always intended [the role to O’Donnell]. I remember seeing Chris while he was making that – we were friends back then – and they always intended to give it to Chris.”
While a role in a Batman film never eventuated for Damon, his collaborations with an esteemed Batman director, Christopher Nolan, keep coming – from Interstellar to Oppenheimer, and on to this year’s The Odyssey.
IGN’s review of The Odyssey called it a “must-watch cinematic experience.”
Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.
