Who owned the role more? Downey as Stark/Bale as Wayne

[kyuubijavi1]

I love Bale as Bruce but RDJ completely owned that Iron Man role and even made me a fan so i gotta give it to bucket head

 

[CFE]

After seeing Bale's 2nd turn as Bruce in the "TDK" clips, it feels like he's going to out-Wayne his performance in "Begins" and thusly will own it more than RDJ did...

CFE

 

[IRON_Lad]

Bale

 

[bluehulk]

Rdj

 

[spider-neil]

bale was 'good' as wayne but downey 'WAS' stark.

 

[TLH]

Call me evil for bumping this but now that TDK has been out for a while I figure more people will have decided which way to place to their vote.

 

[xisaacx]

Im saying Bale for now until we see Downey is IM2 to see if he still has that same passion and drive bale had in The Dark Knight.

But I think all the hype of IM got everyone just saying Downey because hes the first Iron Man.

 

[Wesley Dodds]

I think one of the big flaws of Nolanverse batman is that Bale (and the scripts) seemed to think of Wayne as more of an everyman... A major part of his character is that he's a genius... We're talking about a guy whose one of the three smartest men on Earth, a guy who builds satellites single handed in his spare time.... It felt a little bit like in their quest to make the character more realistic they sacrificed a massive part of him, Whereas Robert Downey jr just WAS Tony Stark. And he was served BRILLIANTLY by a script and director that also had just as clear an idea of who that character is and what makes him tick and werent willng to make any concessions or changes to it...
So, yeah! Downey JR. for me!

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Bale was a fantastic Batman, but I feel as though Downey Jr. captured Tony Stark/Iron Man a little more than what bale did with Batman. So, all in all, I feel that Downey Jr. "IS" Iron Man.

 

[gwynplaine]

They both were great imo but my preference goes to Bale for his more subtle, understated work.

 

[Sawyer]

I'm gonna say Bale because he was actually playing a role. In case you didnt notice, RDJ was pretty much Tony Stark to begin with. No acting required.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I'm going with Bale...He nailed Wayne for me, and his Batman is great for the most part, the only downside was his voice in TDK. In BB he had the perfect balance.

I really enjoyed RDJ but since I never read Iron Man comics I can't comment on how faithful he was to the comics Stark persona.

 

[mr_saxon]

Watched IM again last night, RDJ still amazing in the role; but you still can't take anything away from Bale either towards becoming the role. Both are excellent actors, but from watching TDK I would say that Bale is best when interacting with others; where as RDJ is just as effective simply in a workshop building the suit and trying to fly. Love them both- but RDJ gets my vote for lead actor, TDK gets my vote for overall film.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Both kicked major ass. Fact.

 

[Ziggyman]

Both are great...But Downey!

Because the role is made for him...While Bale fits the role

The parallels between Stark and Downey are uncanny and really that's why!

 

[luke1234]

all 3 of them are great

gotta love Ron though ahhaha

 

[louiebling$]

RDJ..... yes Bale is By far the best Wayne/Batman we have seen but RDJ captured the essence and true character/Charisma of Tony Stark/Iron Man. His Chemistry with Paltrow/Potts was ridiculously SPOT on with their comic book counter parts. RDJ=

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Both are great, but I feel that Bale never really caught all of Wayne's facets. He played the playboy very well, but he missed the tortured genius, the man driven by the deaths of his parents, that whole Batman component was lost a lot of times. I actually still think Michael Keaton did a slightly better job ignoring his obvious physical limitations.

 

[Jay Lifestar]

I say this with the utmost respect to what Downey Jr accomplished as Stark. But in my mind Bale edged out due to the fact that the way he plays Bruce Wayne (though you can see aspects of the "Wayne Wade" character from Shaft, the "smugness" of the American Psycho character and the stone face approach of the character he played in that movie that had Taye Diggs in it too {the name of which I'm totally spazzing on right now) as it had beats that seemed to stray from what he usually does. With Downey Starks seemed to be in line with characters he has played before (as if the cameras stepped back and simply let Robert be Robert). That said, Downey did put it down and set a precedent that it will be difficult for anyone that plays Stark after him to match (or want to match).

 

[I Am The Knight]

I say this with the utmost respect to what Downey Jr accomplished as Stark. But in my mind Bale edged out due to the fact that the way he plays Bruce Wayne (though you can see aspects of the "Wayne Wade" character from Shaft, the "smugness" of the American Psycho character and the stone face approach of the character he played in that movie that had Taye Diggs in it too {the name of which I'm totally spazzing on right now) as it had beats that seemed to stray from what he usually does. With Downey Starks seemed to be in line with characters he has played before (as if the cameras stepped back and simply let Robert be Robert). That said, Downey did put it down and set a precedent that it will be difficult for anyone that plays Stark after him to match (or want to match).

The movie you are thinking about is Equilibrium.

 

[bullets]

Downey owned the role more. but bale is a close second

agreeable. i think downey owns tony stark because there is no competition for that role. bale is just a bruce that reflects his time.bale is todays batman and downey is the only iron man and in my opinion downey may never be topped.

 

[protocida]

Bale was great as Batman (Altought Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckheart stole him thunder), but Robert Downey Jr. owned as Tony Stark/Iron Man.

 

[gwynplaine]

Both, in a different way. But I could picture RDJ as Wayne but not as Batman where Bale could pull off both Stark and IM imo. So, I guess Bale, for his intensity, commitment and restraint.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Bale also goes back to being Bale after the camera stops rolling. Downey Jr. on the other hand just changes his name and takes off the suit...Downey Jr. brings a personal experience to the role Bale just doesn't have and it shows.

 

[Chris B]

Downey.

One of the main factors I think that despite doing a great job, Bale's performance as Wayne/Batman left me with the sense that a future actor in the role can easily repeat, if not improve, the role in quality.

With Downey, I think his performance in Iron Man was so unique that it'll he hard for any future actors who play Stark to not come across an imitation.