Nirvana Shaped Paul Dano's Interpretation Of The Batman's Riddler
Based on what most fans know about the history between Gotham's Caped Crusader Batman and the villainous foe that plagues him with endless enigmas, The Riddler, the way the character was depicted in "The Batman" film was much different from what many are probably used to seeing. Some may not realize that the dark interpretation orchestrated by Paul Dano, who played Edward Nashton in the Matt Reeves-directed feature, was heavily influenced by the band Nirvana.
Actor Paul Dano has been in the acting game for what seems like forever. The talented star has achieved an impressive amount of credits over the years, including memorable performances in well-received motion pictures, such as "There Will Be Blood," "Little Miss Sunshine," and "Prisoners." He has even earned an Emmy nomination for his work on "Escape at Dannemora." But out of all of the Certified Fresh endeavors (via Rotten Tomatoes) he has lent his unique skill set too throughout his run in the industry, one of the highest-grossing affairs he has been a part of is without a doubt "The Batman," which made over $770 million at the box office.
Dano was intrigued by the direction Reeves' vision would take the characters associated with the property, which inevitably led to him joining the project. Despite being initially less than enthusiastic when it came to the character's fatigues, he eventually was able to adapt to the idea of what this Riddler was and how menacing this take would be compared to other versions. But in order to build this character, Dano drew on various things for inspiration, including a particular track he enjoys from Nirvana.
There was truly something about Something in the Way that made the Riddler's past trauma come together
Paul Dano was a guest on "Hot Ones" when host Sean Evans asked about the cultivation of the puzzle-centric villain in "The Batman" and how his take was influenced by a certain Nirvana track. "Something in the Way is a great song, and I listened to a lot of Nirvana. But yeah, that chorus for me was like, what are we all trying to, ya know, Something in the Way, what are we all trying to get through," Paul Dano said while eating spicy wings (via YouTube). "And I think it's about the two sides of trauma, and one person had a little more resources to deal with their trauma — Bruce Wayne. And my guy just didn't quite have, didn't have the nurture but didn't have the nature either, if we are being real."
Playing the traumatized persona would inevitably be difficult for Dano, who previously revealed it was a challenge playing the character, even causing him to have trouble sleeping. "There were some nights around that I probably didn't sleep as well as I would've wanted to just because it was a little hard to come down from this character."
While some fans are divided on Dano's take, there are some who revere his Riddler as absolutely perfect. Whether his version of the Batman villain is the best or not is up for interpretation, but it does seem safe to presume that his performance is arguably a contender for his greatest hits list and is most assuredly one of his best films overall.