Scarier-crow

HOLLYWOOD Heartthrob Cillian Murphy said he studied his boyhood comic books to make his Scarecrow character more spooky.

Cillian, 31, said he wanted to make sure his Batman Begins villain was terrifying enough to take on the might of the caped crusader so he poured over old comic books to help with his role.

He said: "The Scarecrow is one of the two villains of the piece, he's one of the earliest villains of all, I think.

"I researched him by looking at what's on the page.

"DC Comics sent me over a big stack of comic books so I devoured all those and then could see where the character came from and his evolution."

Cillian said he and director Chris Nolan were careful not to make the Scarecrow into too much of a comedy character.

Cillian said: "We decided on the look of the character because in the comic books it's quite theatrical.

"It is actually a scarecrow really, so you want to veer away from Worzel Gummidge approach.

"We approached it from a more naturalistic perspective.

"And then we decided on the psychology of the thing. That's important I guess because he's not physically a very imposing character.

"As a result he's more interested in the manipulation of the mind and the psychology of fear - what that can do against Batman who is this incredible physical presence.

"So I threw all those things into the mix."

The film will be released on Friday and Cork-born Cillian said fans would not be disappointed.

He said: "People keep asking what my outstanding memory of making this film is.

"It's everything - every f*****g thing from the bat-suit to the batmobile. It was breathtaking."

Cillian said the film didn't rely on computer generated imagery.

He said: "I saw the movie for the first time and it's so refreshing to look at a big blockbuster, and not see all this stuff that only happened in a computer."

And the actor said he never felt uncomfortable being lined up alongside the likes of Christian Bale in the big budget movie.

He said: "I know it was a huge movie logistically and there was a lot of money involved, but it didn't feel like that in any way because of Chris Nolan and everyone else involved."

Cillian said he thought he would be nervous working on such a huge budget blockbuster.

But he said the director Chris Nolan had made sure the atmosphere on set was happy and relaxed.

He said: "I was assuming I'd be terrified right from the beginning to the end.

"But I wasn't because of this atmosphere they created.

"They're very special people, you feel safe."

Cillian said he was drawn to the film, which stars Christian Bale as the caped crusader, because of the way the villains and heroes are real people who just stretch themselves.

He said: "The script deals with the genesis and evolution of the character of Batman.

"But I think within that is this sort of psychology of fear.

"I suppose the villains of the piece are the physical manifestation of Batman or Bruce Wayne's demons.

"Especially my character Scarecrow and his "fear toxin" - that is his weapon.

"The vision of it was to have it grounded in reality - I guess a slightly altered reality but certainly something people can relate to."

Cillian, who missed out on the Batman role himself, said the caped crusader was the coolest superhero in his book.

He said: "I think it's because it's psychological.

"There are no super powers. I remember Chris said to me, 'Batman is a rich guy who does a lot of push-ups'.

That's what he is - or Bruce Wayne is.

"In this movie you see that process of how he becomes this incredible, dark character.

"That's why he's so much cooler than all these other ones because there's a connection, a human connection.

"You're thinking if I had that much money and did that many push- ups, could I...

"So all these things appeal to me."

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