Christian Bale, the leading character in the new Batman adaptation “Dark Knight Rises,” recently spoke about being impressed with Anne Hathaway’s interpretation of Catwoman in the film.

Bale spoke to the Philippine Inquirer Daily about his admiration for Hathaway developing after watching her first audition.

“I’m terrible at auditions, so I’m very impressed when somebody really seems to acquire an ownership of a character without having worked on it or prepared for some amount of time,” said the star who plays both Batman in the film.

Bale said he recognized the importance of the role, after watching other well-known actresses try out to play the character.

“I had plenty of scenes with Anne,” he said. “And I was there when we did the screen test for her. The thing that I said to Chris [Nolan] that day was that there were many very accomplished actresses who had read for the role.”

Bale said he believed Hathaway had the hardest role to fulfill in the movie, due to the well-known actresses who took on the role previously.

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“When Chris watched the screen test, he agreed that Anne did a wonderful job. In many ways, she has the hardest job,” he said. “There are a number of people who feel that the Catwoman role has been defined previously. So, I always saw Anne’s role as being the toughest job of any of us.”

However, Bale told the Philippine Inquirer Daily that he no longer referenced previous Batman actors to do his job.

“In my case, I’ve stopped referencing outside sources,” Bale said. “I now reference Chris’ own world of Batman as a guide to what I will continue doing.”

The Dark Knight Rises film is due to premiere in theaters in July 2012.