BATMAN & ROBIN Star George Clooney Reveals He Was Paid 1/25th Of What Arnold Schwarzenegger Earned

In a new interview, one-time Dark Knight George Clooney has talked more about the time he spent in the role, revealing how little he was paid compared to co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger, and much more...

By JoshWilding - Dec 18, 2020 07:12 AM EST

Filed Under: Batman and Robin (1997)

George Clooney's career has been amazing enough that Batman & Robin is simply a blip on the radar for him. In a revealing interview with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show (via The Hollywood Reporter), the actor talked more about donning the cape and cowl way back in 1997.

The Oscar-winner revealed that he earned $1 million for his work as Bruce Wayne, a fraction of what Arnold Schwarzenegger made - a whopping $25 million - for playing the villainous Mr. Freeze.

"I couldn't have done that one differently," Clooney said after being asked about any regrets he may have regarding his work in Batman & Robin. "It's a big machine, that thing. You have to remember at that point, I was just an actor getting an acting job. I wasn't the guy who could greenlight a movie."

Bizarrely, Clooney claims he and Schwarzenegger "never even saw each other" while they were shooting because, "It's a big, monster machine, and I just sort of jumped in and did what they said."

After noting that it's "physically" painful for him to watch Batman & Robin, the actor acknowledged that everyone involved was responsible for how the movie turned out.

"The truth of the matter is, I was bad in it. Akiva Goldsman - who's won the Oscar for writing since then - he wrote the screenplay. And it's a terrible screenplay, he'll tell you. I'm terrible in it, I'll tell you. Joel Schumacher, who just passed away, directed it, and he'd say, 'Yeah, it didn't work.' We all whiffed on that one."

Something tells us this is a role Clooney has no interest in ever revisiting, and we wouldn't bank on him signing up for another comic book movie, either. It's definitely fun to hear his take on Batman & Robin, but it's hard to imagine he'll have much more to say about this one moving forward.

How does Batman & Robin compare to the Caped Crusader's other movies
according to Rotten Tomatoes? Hit the "Next" button below to find out!

10. Batman & Robin

Score: 11%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Joel Schumacher's tongue-in-cheek attitude hits an unbearable limit in Batman & Robin resulting in a frantic and mindless movie that's too jokey to care much for.

Widely considered the worst Batman movie of all-time, it's no great surprise that Batman & Robin comes in at last place. There's no denying that it featured an impressive cast (George Clooney, Uma Thurman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger all sharing the screen is pretty incredible when you think about it), but Joel Schumacher's vision for the franchise went completely off the rails here.

9. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Score: 28%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice smothers a potentially powerful story -- and some of America's most iconic superheroes -- in a grim whirlwind of effects-driven action.

Zack Snyder's movie deserves to place higher than this, and while critics didn't respond to what proved to be a vastly different vision for a comic book adaptation, a lot of fans loved what this team-up delivered. There were some mistakes - Doomsday's appearance, Batman killing criminals, and "Martha," for example - but this score isn't representative of what ended up on screen.

8. Batman Forever

Score: 39%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Loud, excessively busy, and often boring, Batman Forever nonetheless has the charisma of Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones to offer mild relief.

As memorable and Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones may have been, this complete "disasterpiece" was every bit as bad as Batman and Robin, and a chore to watch. After Batman Returns, it was a baffling and unexpected direction to take the Dark Knight in, and Val Kilmer unfortunately made for an underwhelming version of Bruce Wayne, especially after Michael Keaton's take.

7. Justice League

Score: 40%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Justice League leaps over a number of DC movies, but its single bound isn't enough to shed the murky aesthetic, thin characters, and chaotic action that continue to dog the franchise.

Joss Whedon brought a lot of good ideas to the table with his take on Justice League, but trying to combine his vision with Zack Snyder's created a weird, Frankenstein's monster movie (literally in the case of Henry Cavill thanks to his CGI jaw). Ben Affleck's Batman was fine, but not really given anything significant to do beyond being an ass to Diana Prince and being willing to sacrifice himself.

6. Batman (1989)

Score: 71%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: An eerie, haunting spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment, even if Jack Nicholson's Joker too often overshadows the title character.

This is a classic, but it's also a little rough around the edges. Zack Snyder's Dark Knight received a lot of flak for killing bad guys, but Michael Keaton's eccentric Bruce Wayne - who sleeps upside down at nighttime - was every bit the murderer. In many ways, this was The Joker's movie, but the Capec Crusader was given the chance to shine, and he did so in a stylistic Gotham created by Tim Burton.

5. Batman: The Movie

Score: 78%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: Batman: The Movie elevates camp to an art form -- and has a blast doing it, every gloriously tongue-in-cheek inch of the way.

If you loved the TV series, then this movie was everything you could hope for and more. It hasn't aged well (it was released way back in 1966, remember), but in terms of being a campy, silly adventure starring the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder, it works wonderfully. With a star-studded cast of actors and characters, this is perhaps the most "comic book-y" movie of all those listed here.

4. Batman Returns

Score: 80%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: Director Tim Burton's dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael Keaton's work as the tormented hero, and the flawless casting of Danny DeVito as The Penguin and Christopher Walken as, well, Christopher Walken make the sequel better than the first.

This movie is a masterpiece, but it's no great surprise that a certain trilogy beats it! However, Batman Returns is arguably better than the next two entries in this feature, even if it doesn't quite deserve the #1 spot. Catwoman and The Penguin made for terrific villains (even when Max Shreck did not), and it was impossible not to get invested in Bruce Wayne's relationship with Selina Kyle.

3. Batman Begins

Score: 84%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: Brooding and dark, but also exciting and smart, Batman Begins is a film that understands the essence of one of the definitive superheroes.

Batman Begins was exactly what this iconic DC Comics character needed after Joel Schumacher's awful movies, and Christopher Nolan's in-depth look at the hero's origin story proved to be immensely satisfying to watch unfold. This story was arguably at its best before Bruce donned the cape and cowl, but it was definitely refreshing to see him battle a baddie like Ra's al Ghul.

2. The Dark Knight Returns

Score: 87%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: The Dark Knight Rises is an ambitious, thoughtful, and potent action film that concludes Christopher Nolan's franchise in spectacular fashion.

As a finale to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, some fans loved it, and others hated it. The Dark Knight Rises is certainly a complicated, busy movie, with massively different takes on characters like Bane and Catwoman, and the ending was both a departure from the comics and very unexpected. It's a pretty great movie, though, and Nolan made a lot of bold choices here.

1. The Dark Knight

Score: 94%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: Dark, complex, and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga.

A masterpiece, The Dark Knight once again saw The Joker overshadow Batman himself, but Christian Bale was at his best here...even when his "Batvoice" was not. An intense crime thriller, the Caped Crusader's world remained grounded in reality for the sequel, but that worked for Christopher Nolan, and the filmmaker set a benchmark here which has yet to be surpassed by another movie.

BATMAN AND ROBIN Star George Clooney Elaborates On His Feelings Towards The DC Film: I Was Terrible In It

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64 Comments

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BigMikeReviews - 12/18/2020, 8:15 AM

For what it's worth... I may have watched this movie more times than any of the other pre Nolan era Batman movies. I can't count how many times I've laughed with friends watching this campy mess, and for that...everyone involved in this movie has my thanks.

MosquitoFarmer - 12/18/2020, 8:15 AM

That's cold.

mastakilla39 - 12/18/2020, 9:20 AM

@MosquitoFarmer - Pay disparity made sense because Arnold was still 1 of the biggest actors back then. Clooney was just finally starting to get popular from an indie movie and tv show. Jim Carey got paid more than Kilmer in Batman forever too.

MosquitoFarmer - 12/18/2020, 9:38 AM

@mastakilla39 -

Supes17 - 12/18/2020, 9:59 AM

@MosquitoFarmer -
“Alright, everyone! CHIIILLLL”

Matador - 12/18/2020, 10:42 AM

@MosquitoFarmer - LMAO I just noticed his got a cigar

Superboy8992 - 12/19/2020, 6:11 PM

@mastakilla39 -

Very true!

marvel72 - 12/18/2020, 8:18 AM

Jack Nicholson got paid more than Michael Keaton,bigger name more money.

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 8:23 AM

@marvel72 - Nicholson even had a clause in his contract to get paid for the sequel - whether he was in it or not.

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 8:30 AM

@Waddles - yep.

marvel72 - 12/18/2020, 8:41 AM

@BillyBatson1000 - I believe he had some deal that everytime The Joker was used one way or another he got paid.

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 8:57 AM

@marvel72 - Wow. Ker'ching to infinity.

marvel72 - 12/18/2020, 9:10 AM

@BillyBatson1000 - Yeah I looked it up, he got paid six million dollars for the role, got a percentage of what the movie made. He got money from merchandise and he earned money from the three sequels that he wasn't even in.

A total of 100 million dollars.

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 9:59 AM

@marvel72 - Wow! No wonder he retired early - memory problems aside.

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 8:19 AM

"We're going to need a bigger wallet."

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 8:29 AM

@Waddles - Oh my lord ... I forgot that.

bobevanz - 12/18/2020, 8:21 AM

What killed the dinosaurs? THE ICE AAAAGE

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 8:27 AM

The script was almost Shakespearean:

"Kill da heroes. Kill dem."

Magnificent.

BillyBatson1000 - 12/18/2020, 8:59 AM

@Waddles - This I can believe. Makes his entire body of work smaller by comparison.

DannRamm113 - 12/18/2020, 8:31 AM

Arnold got $25 million for Batman and Robin??? Damn id make ice puns for 2 hours for 1/25th of that.

Hell, 1/50th would be _cool_

elgaz - 12/18/2020, 8:48 AM

Well, at least he's honest about it. It was a campy, neon-saturated, cheesy cringey mess of a movie and almost ruined live action Batman as a character. Thankfully Nolan put things back on the right track a few years later.

1 2

BATMAN & ROBIN Star George Clooney Reveals He Was Paid 1/25th Of What Arnold Schwarzenegger Earned

In a new interview, one-time Dark Knight George Clooney has talked more about the time he spent in the role, revealing how little he was paid compared to co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger, and much more...

10. Batman & Robin

9. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

8. Batman Forever

7. Justice League

6. Batman (1989)

5. Batman: The Movie

4. Batman Returns

3. Batman Begins

2. The Dark Knight Returns

1. The Dark Knight

BATMAN AND ROBIN Star George Clooney Elaborates On His Feelings Towards The DC Film: "I Was Terrible In It"

Joel Schumacher, Director Of BATMAN & ROBIN And THE LOST BOYS, Passes Away Aged 80

Tim Burton Speaks Out On BATMAN FOREVER And BATMAN & ROBIN’s Infamous Nipple-Batsuits

THE FLASH: George Clooney Jokingly Reveals Why He's Not Returning As Bruce Wayne