Let's see who portrayed this the best:
#3 Michael Cain
I love Michael Cain, but he goes underused in Nolon's movies. There's really nothing special about him unlike the other 2 candidates on the list. This isn't Cain's problem it's the story line that doesn't deal as well with the "modern day" Batman motif.
#2 Alan Napier
He lived up to 90 something before he died but he was never known for anything other than the lovable butler that brought the Alfred character back to life in the comic books. No seriously, Alfred was dead in the comic book when this TV show came out. It was the show that brought Wayne's butler back into the spot light and it's Nappier's clever portrayal that did it. This fact alone gives him a rightful place at #2.
Amazing job.
#1 Michael Gough
I bet if I didn't have a picture here but if I only had this picture and no title about what I was talking about, you'd say "Hey, what's with the picture of Alfred on his post?"
Making his way thru all 4 Batman films in the 90's Micheal Gough set the bar on how Alfred should be. I don't think we'll ever since such a marvelous performance from another actor ever again. I want to see someone argue this one on me. You can't deny that when you think of Alfred Gough's face is what pops up first!
One more left for tomorrow...
3 comments:
This is probably how I would've ranked them.
Megan
I agree pretty much, but I believe that Michael Cain would be more likely to have done the things that Alfred from the comics supposedly had done in his backstory. A military surgeon, and a bit of a scrapper.
I haven't watched either series, where Michael Gough and Alan Napier performed the role, extensively enough to form any opinion on them, but I would have to disagree with your statement about Michael Cain being underused in Nolan's films, or no special characteristics about him.
Perhaps he should get the short end of the stick when it comes to assessing all of the typical butler responsibilities, but digressing from that, I found him to be an intricate part of the story. Perhaps more so as a fatherly figure and source of wisdom more than a butler, and in retrospect
If you base the rankings on the premise of a stereotypical butler, I have too little hindsight on the other 2's performances to attest to the rankings. Just to reiterate my initial point, I'm not contesting where he lies in the ranking - as I'm in no position to; I just believe he's more special than acclaimed to be in his own respect. Like many of the cast members for Nolan's franchise, he's one of my favorite quotable characters.
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