The 1995 role Tommy Lee Jones couldn’t understand: “Why don’t you re-read the fucking thing?”
Despite his established prominence in Hollywood, Tommy Lee Jones required persistent persuasion to accept the role of Two-Face in Joel Schumacher's 1995 Batman sequel. When producer Peter Macgregor-Scott sent the screenplay to the actor in Texas, Jones quickly rejected it, claiming he did not understand it. Macgregor-Scott responded with a direct rebuke, reminding Jones of his Academy Award status before abruptly ending the conversation.
Within hours, Jones reconsidered and agreed to take the part. Batman Forever proved a substantial commercial venture, generating significant profits despite its enormous production budget. Whilst the film received mixed critical reception overall, Jones' performance as the villain earned favourable reviews from critics and helped establish him as one of the decade's most bankable actors.
- Oscar-winning Tommy Lee Jones initially rejected the Two-Face role in Batman Forever after dismissing the screenplay as incomprehensible
- Producer Peter Macgregor-Scott convinced him through a blunt phone rebuke reminding Jones of his Academy Award status
- The 1995 film became commercially successful and Jones' performance received critical praise despite mixed reviews for the film overall
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Tommy Lee Jones played the villain Two-Face in Batman Forever, released in 1995 and directed by Joel Schumacher. It was the third film in the original Batman series and marked a deliberate shift towards a brighter, campier tone than the darker films that preceded it, with Val Kilmer taking over the role of Batman.
By the mid-1990s, Jones was already a respected and successful actor, having won an Academy Award, which made his reluctance over the Two-Face script notable to those involved in making the film. Peter Macgregor-Scott was one of the film's producers, responsible for getting the project and its cast in place.
Batman Forever went on to become one of the biggest box office hits of the year, and the film is often looked back on as a turning point in how the Batman franchise was portrayed on screen before later instalments moved back towards darker storytelling.