MovieChat Forums > Batman (1966) Discussion > If he didn't become so severely typecast...

If he didn't become so severely typecast as Robin, could Burt Ward have had a substantial acting career post-Batman?

posted 3 years ago by TMC-4 (19392)
2 replies | jump to latest

The big myth that is often brought up is that Burt was considered for the Benjamin Braddock role in The Graduate. That's the role that of course, ultimately went to Dustin Hoffman. But Burt had to turn it down (or it was turned down for him) because of his contract with Batman.

http://66batman.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3560&start=15

While I don't think that Burt Ward had the acting chops of a Dustin Hoffman, he was admittedly, a very handsome guy in his youth. Burt had I would say, a vibrant boy next door vibe to him, like his successor as Dick Grayson, Chris O'Donnell possessed. What I mean is that even though he was good looking, he didn't seem to pose too much of a threat to other guys, who would be worried that he would steal their girlfriend.

[–] strntz (10779) 3 years ago

Excellent post.

You're correct, there's no doubt that Hoffman had the better acting chops and was the better casting choice, but boy wouldn't I love to see an alternate universe version of The Graduate with Burt Ward as Benjamin. I'd bet he would have done a very professional job on that film.

[–] JosephQCat (706) 3 years ago

I think that in large part Burt was sunk by his boyish looks more than anything. Burt most likely exceeded expectations by being cast on Batman to start with. Not every actor can be Shatner and jump through the decades almost effortlessly while his Star Trek costars had nearly as bad typecasting as Ward.