Movies - TV
Paul Dano Was ‘Shocked’ By How Much He Came To Love The Batman’s Riddler Role
By SHAE SENNET
Playing the villain can be a challenging job for any actor, but for Paul Dano playing the duplicitous Riddler in “The Batman,” turned out to be an incredible experience. Thanks in large part to Matt Reeves’ script, Dano found a way to connect with the Riddler and feel sympathy for him,
and even surprised himself by
loving the role.
Dano was originally nervous about playing such an iconic character that is so dear to lifelong Batman fans but jumped on the chance to work with Matt Reeves on his portrayal of the Riddler. Reeves’ reimagining of the Riddler in the internet age with an online, incel-adjacent following allowed Dano to focus on creating a newer version of the character.
Despite being an indie film darling, Dano had always wanted to do a superhero movie, and Reeves' film was the perfect point of entry because of its morally complex examination of hero and villain alike. Dano said, “I thought that the sense of good and evil was not as black and white as it often is in a superhero film. And I thought those gray areas were really exciting.”