Nolan recalls being struck by the actor’s “youthful energy” when they first met: “He has tremendous charisma and that incredible kind of positivity that can’t be faked.” Which makes him perfect, of course, for Commissioner Gordon’s protégé. “We really needed somebody with a sense of idealism to contrast with Gordon’s weariness,” Nolan says of Gary Oldman’s role. “I thought of Joe first and foremost.”