Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice storms onto Cineworld screens from this Friday – and if you thought Ben Affleck was the only new face set to shake things up a bit, then think again.
Let's introduce Oscar-winning British thesp Jeremy Irons, who's about to turn the role of Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred inside out. Here's what's set to distinguish him from the role's previous incumbents like Michael Caine.
It's a new dawn, it's a new Alfred
Director Zack Snyder's comic book epic spears off on a different tangent from Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, establishing not just a new Batman in the form of Affleck but also a completely different visual style that's very much it's own beast.
So when it comes to the character of Alfred, it's out with the old and in the with new: bye bye Michael Caine, hello to Jeremy Irons, Oscar-winner for Reversal of Fortune, embodiment of identical twins in David Cronenberg's creepy classic Dead Ringers and the voice of Scar in Disney smash The Lion King. He also made an enjoyably hammy baddie in Die Hard with a Vengeance.
"When Zack suggested I play Alfred, I didn’t want to be constrained by what came before so I approached it as an entirely new character," Irons tells The Irish Examiner. "I wanted to be able to embody what Zack wanted – his vision of Alfred – so I came to it fresh, as you would with a Shakespeare play. You're aware that many other people have played the role and other people have come up with different ideas for dealing with that particular character, so you try to get inside him as if no one has ever done so before, and tell the story afresh."
This Alfred is an action man
If you thought that Batman's loyal manservant was all about carting tea trays and generally tidying up, then think again. That might have been the case with previous actors Michael Gough and Michael Caine – but Irons' Alfred is a tech wizard who actively gets involved in the ageing Dark Knight's missions, as seen in the trailer when he remote pilots the Batwing to help his master sort out some baddies.
"Zack Snyder, the director, wanted to create a completely different Alfred," Irons tells The Toronto Sun. "So I felt I didn't have to carry any baggage from previous ones. It's sort of a reincarnation if you'd like. I had a feeling I was creating my own Alfred, more of a man who can actually do anything if he has to."
He's also quirkier than before
One simply cannot have an Alfred without a dry sense of humour – remember Caine's "I hope you're not a member of the fire brigade" after knocking out a baddie in Batman Begins? Nevertheless, Irons' take on the character is much more self-sufficient and offbeat than his predecessors.
"Aware of the massive power that Bruce Wayne has, Alfred almost reacts against all this power and technology, needing to surround himself with normal things," the actor tells The Irish Examiner. "He grows his own vegetables; lives in a trailer, an Air-Stream, on the edge of the Wayne estate. He surrounds himself with normality as an antidote to what he knows he’s going to have to do when he goes to work, rather as I do as an actor. I’m a fairly practical person and I made that part of my input to the character."
He doesn't reside within Wayne Manor
As glimpsed in the trailer, Bruce Wayne's ancestral home is now a burnt out shell – why exactly, remains to be seen. Of course, what it does mean is that neither Wayne nor Alfred can reside within its crumbling walls. Fortunately, Irons says that Alfred has his "lakeside retreat" to escape the daily grind of helping the Batman kick people's teeth in. How the other half live, eh?
His background sounds seriously cool
If you're wondering why exactly this Alfred is so handy with technology and gadgets, well that's because Irons has hinted at a possible special ops background during an interview with Empire. That would make sense – and it's something we really want to see expanded in future movies. Watch this space...
Remember: advance booking is now open so click here to get your tickets for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Let us know when you've got yours @Cineworld and using #BatmanvSuperman.
