Bradley Cooper - Cooper Blames Botched Audition On Bale

Actor BRADLEY COOPER is blaming BATMAN star CHRISTIAN BALE for costing him the lead role in forthcoming superhero film THE GREEN LANTERN.

Cooper auditioned to star in the upcoming comic book movie adaptation - but ruined his screen test by imitating Bale's husky-voiced portrayal of the caped crusader.

The Hangover star is sure the casting agents were laughing at his Batman impression and that convinced them to hand the role to Hollywood hunk Ryan Reynolds.

Cooper laughs, "I couldn't not do Christian Bale's Batman when I was doing the audition. I don't know what it was. You put a mask on, and I actually said, 'I'm Batman.' When I walked back and saw (the playback) I thought, 'Oh my God!' It looked like a Saturday Night Live sketch. I was like, 'Oh, I'm not getting this!'"