Ethan Hawke

'The Black Phone' star turned down the role of The Caped Crusader in 1992 blockbuster ‘Batman Forever’, leaving it to Val Kilmer.

Hawke's reason was that he didn't want the restrictive fame that comes with a superhero part.

In an interview with Details, Hawke said: “I just didn’t want to go to the (New York) Knicks (basketball) game and have everybody go, ‘Wow, you were a great Batman!’ That wasn’t my goal in life.”

However, he also admitted to regretting his decision to spurn the DC Comics character.

He added: “Now I wish I’d done it because I could have used it to do other things.”