Christian Bale was 'jealous' of Ben Affleck

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Christian Bale was 'jealous' of Ben Affleck

Christian Bale felt "jealous" when it was announced Ben Affleck would play Batman.

The 40-year-old star - who appeared as the superhero in the 'The Dark Knight' film franchise - has revealed he "stared into nothing for half an hour" when he was told his fellow actor had been cast of the character in the upcoming film 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', because he felt envious.

Christian said: "When I heard there was someone else doing it, there was a moment where I just stopped and stared into nothing for half an hour.

"But I'm 40. The fact that I'm jealous of someone else playing Batman ... I think I should have gotten over it by now."

Christian admitted that while he originally said he would never star in another Batman movie, a part of him wanted to make one more for the franchise.

He added to Empire magazine: "I've got to admit, initially, even though I felt that it was the right time to stop, there was always a bit of me going, 'Oh go on ... Let's do another.' "

However, the 'American Psycho' star insisted there is no bitterness between him and the 42-year-old star.

Christian said: "I haven't spoken with Ben, but I emailed him offering bits of advice that I learned the hard way. I would imagine he is doing everything he can to avoid anything that I did."