Christian Bale is about to play Batman for a third - and likely final -- time in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises," but the actor told Access Hollywood that the first time he tried on the iconic superhero suit he thought they had made a mistake casting him.
"I felt like they should recast. I really did because it was so claustrophobic that I didn't feel like I could breathe. I felt they've made a mistake and I can't do this," he told Access at the film's junket this weekend in Los Angeles.
PLAY IT NOW: Christian Bale Talks The Dark Knight Rises
The 38-year-old star explained that he was able to overcome his fear of the suit.
"I took some time and breathed deeply and asked to be left alone for 15, 20 minutes and just sat with it and eventually got used to it," he recalled, explaining that with each film, the suit design has been improved upon.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Dark Knight Rises — Behind The Scenes!
In addition to fighting new villain Bane in the third installment (played by Tom Hardy), the actor goes head to head with Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.
"She did a wonderful job. She really trained so hard for it. She managed to find a place for herself where she could make this version of Catwoman work within Chris Nolan's world of Batman," he told Access. "I remember when she first read for it, I turned to Chris and I said,' I think that's what you're looking,'... I could see that through the costume a Catwoman. She was able to overcome that and still show the character... she was superb."
"The Dark Knight Rises" debuts on the big screen on July 20.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Christian Bale
-- Jesse Spero
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