Pierce Brosnan's Sense Of Humor Didn't Help Him When He Auditioned For Tim Burton's Batman

Fate played a significant role in the storied career of Pierce Brosnan. For instance, his artistic flair centered around painting rather than acting in his youth. "I left school at 16, 17, with nothing but a cardboard folder of drawings and paintings," Brosnan said in an interview on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." "Got a job in a little studio in Putney, South London, and I thought, 'I'm off to be an artist.'"

Had destiny not intervened, Brosnan might never have played the titular role on "Remington Steele," which helped him land the part of James Bond in "GoldenEye." "If it weren't for Cassie, I probably wouldn't have come to America," Brosnan explained how his first wife, Cassandra Harris, persuaded him to live in the United States, according to The Biography Channel. Following five successful seasons on "Remington Steele," and after the reign of Timothy Dalton's Bond, the painter-turned-actor took up the mantle of 007 in four installments of the spy franchise.

However, Brosnan's seemingly unlimited range enabled him to portray a number of meaningful characters in memorable projects, which included "The Ghost Writer," "Mamma Mia!" and "The Matador." Now, fate — Dr. Fate, if you will — knocks on the door of Brosnan's career again. Brosnan will be joining Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the comic book adaptation "Black Adam," but the former Bond could have been a superhero decades earlier. Did you know how Brosnan screwed up his audition to be the Batman?

Brosnan's fate could have taken a different turn had his sense of humor not botched his audition for "Batman." "I went up for 'Batman' way back in the day when Tim Burton was doing it," Brosnan said during his interview on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." "Obviously, I didn't get the job. I remember saying something stupid to Tim Burton. I said, 'You know I can't understand any man who would wear his underpants outside his trousers.' But there you go. The best man got the job. And, you know, Doctor Fate and I were meant to meet on the same page."

Despite Brosnan's abilities, the actor wasn't even Burton's first choice to be Batman. The director wanted Mel Gibson for the part, but Gibson was already committed to returning in "Lethal Weapon 2," according to E! News. Willem Dafoe also said he was considered in an interview with MTV, but he was just another among many. Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, and Dennis Quaid were also on Burton's wish list, according to History, but he ultimately went with Michael Keaton.

Fate can be a fickle friend or foe, but destiny seems to have guided Brosnan down the right path at every turn. Had he donned the Caped Crusader's cowl, Brosnan never would have played 007 because of the timing of Burton's "Batman" in 1989. Whether "Black Adam" is a hit or not, Brosnan has come full circle, and he is now one of the most powerful DC heroes.