This $225M Christian Bale Movie Is The Closest We Ever Got To One Missed The Dark Knight Casting

Summary Matt Damon missed the chance to star as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight due to scheduling conflicts.

Matt Damon later worked with Christian Bale in Ford v Ferrari.

While Matt Damon would have been a good fit for Harvey Dent, Aaron Eckhart's performance in The Dark Knight as Two-Face was highly acclaimed.

The cast of The Dark Knight includes a variety of talented actors, from Christian Bale to Morgan Freeman, but one famous star almost elevated this list of prestigious performers to the next level. One of the villains in the 2008 Christopher Nolan movie could have been played by a familiar face, an actor Bale later collaborated with on a successful film. The two actors missed out on the chance to work together on The Dark Knight. However, they made up for the loss 11 years later when they starred as the two main leads in a biographical sports drama in 2019.

The Dark Knight was nominated for eight Oscars in 2009 and won in two categories — Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger and Best Sound Editing for Richard King.

Bale is a diverse actor who has starred in many iconic movies, but his performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy is arguably his most renowned role. Thankfully, Bale hasn't fallen into the typecast curse following his run as Batman as he has played numerous intriguing characters who are nothing like the Caped Crusader. One of Bale's highest-praised roles came when he appeared alongside an actor originally scheduled to play Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight in the aforementioned 2019 film.

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Ford v Ferrari United Christian Bale & Matt Damon After Damon Turned Down The Dark Knight

Bale & Damon Played The 2 Leads In The 2019 Movie

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Matt Damon was among the many actors considered to play Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight. He turned the part down, though, due to scheduling conflicts as he was in the midst of filming Invictus (which later earned Damon an Oscar nomination). Nevertheless, Damon and Christian Bale eventually got their chance to work together on the set of Ford v Ferrari. Bale starred as Ken Miles and Matt Damon played Carroll Shelby in the 2019 biographical sports drama, directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller.

Ford v Ferrari also received high praise, including for Christian Bale and Matt Damon's performances, as the 2019 biographical sports drama brought the best out of the two actors.

Ford v Ferrari tells the true story of Shelby, an automotive designer, and Miles, a British race car driver, who are hired to help the Ford Motor Company beat Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Ferrari had dominated the race in the years leading up to 1966. Meanwhile, the executives at Ford wanted to prove their company's worth. So, they acquired the help of Shelby and Miles to build a race car that could defeat Ferrari in Ford v Ferrari.

Ford v Ferrari Makes Great Use Of Christian Bale & Matt Damon

Ford v Ferrari Received 4 Oscar Nominations

The Dark Knight is widely considered one of the best Batman movies ever made. However, Ford v Ferrari also received high praise, including for Christian Bale and Matt Damon's performances, as the 2019 biographical sports drama brought the best out of the two actors. Bale and Damon worked very well together, making it clear that Damon would have been a great choice to play Harvey Dent. Ultimately, though, Bale was nominated for a handful of awards for his role as Ken Miles, including a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild, and won a Satellite Award for his performance.

Related 10 Things About The Making Of Ford V Ferrari That You Never Knew Ford v Ferrari has been hailed as one of the most crowd-pleasing movies of 2019. Here are 10 things about the film's making-of that you never knew.

Would Matt Damon Have Been A Good Harvey Dent?

Aaron Eckhart Played Harvey Dent In The Dark Knight

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As mentioned above, Ford v Ferrari cast members Christian Bale and Matt Damon had a lot of chemistry while portraying Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby, respectively. So, it's easy to imagine that the two actors would have played off one another very well in The Dark Knight if Damon agreed to star as Harvey Dent. Damon is also a diverse star capable of taking on differing roles. Consequently, he likely would have been a good fit for the character of Harvey in the 2008 superhero film. However, we'll never know for certain since Aaron Eckhart starred as Harvey instead of Damon.

The Dark Knight Cast Role Christian Bale Bruce Wayne/Batman Michael Caine Alfred Pennyworth Heath Ledger The Joker Gary Oldman James Gordon Aaron Eckhart Harvey Dent/Two-Face Maggie Gyllenhaal Rachel Dawes Morgan Freeman Lucius Fox

Eckhart received a lot of praise from critics and audiences alike for his performance as District Attorney Harvey Dent. In retrospect, Harvey isn't an easy character to play. For half of the movie, Harvey is a charismatic and optimistic good guy. But in the second half, he channels his villainous alter ego Two-Face, and Eckhart pulls off the dramatic transition seamlessly. So, while Damon likely would have brought a lot to the role, Eckhart is the one who played Harvey, making it difficult to picture anyone but him as Two-Face in The Dark Knight.