Christian Bale: 'I'm jealous of someone else playing Batman'

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.

Blae 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."

Bale 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 was no bitterness between him and the 42-year-old star.

Bale 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."

- Bang! Showbiz