Artist, writer, and director Graig Weich (M.A. ’99) made an appearance alongside the Caped Crusader in this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises. Weich (above, top left), who appears in the fight scene between Batman and Bane, plays one of the villain’s mercenaries who is out to rule Gotham City.

Landing the part was a dream come true for the lifelong comic book fan and artist. In 2011, he contacted friends in the comic book industry to learn where the cast and crew were going to film the scene, which turned out to be the Wall Street area.

“About 2,000 people showed up,” recalls Weich, who is also the president and founder of Beyond Comics Inc., an independent comic book and film production company in New York City.

After rehearsing hand-to-hand combat for two days, he and his fellow actors were filmed each day from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. “Between each take we would stop and rehearse for up to 90 minutes, then shoot for three minutes then stop and rehearse again.” Weich quickly forgot the long hours once his childhood hero made an appearance. “When I saw Christian Bale walk on set in the Batman suit, I was like a five-year-old on Christmas.”

Playing a Gotham City thug in a summer blockbuster, however, is not without its drawbacks. During the fight scene, he recalls how one background actor fractured his jaw and another broke his nose. Even Weich got punched in the face (by an overzealous actor, he adds) and was hurled against the Batmobile, an experience he describes as both “painful” and “totally worth it.”

He also experienced the red carpet treatment at the July 16 premiere and after-party of The Dark Knight Rises at Lincoln Square Cinema, alongside co-stars Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman. “When my sequence came up, I couldn’t watch myself,” says Weich. “If you think a facial blemish looks bad in the mirror, try seeing it on a giant IMAX screen.” Look for Weich’s next screen appearance in the E! TV show, Ice Loves Coco (the latter appears in his new comic book, Gekido).

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Vol. 10 No. 3 Table of Contents