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Before he appeared as The Riddler in Batman, John Astin was advised not to guest star in television by his friends
Astin described the experience of playing the character as "fun."
On the 1960s superhero series Batman, it seemed that the city of Gotham was plagued by a new villain every day. Every few episodes, a new costumed bandit would enter the scene to wreak havoc. It was up to Batman and Robin to foil those evil plots.
While that meant a consistent job and steady paycheck for Adam West and Burt Ward, who played the dynamic duo, it often meant that audiences could go weeks without seeing their favorite supervillains.
John Astin, who played The Riddler in the hit series, made the most of his short time on screen. However, he also kept a more pragmatic viewpoint of his role on the series.
“It’s just a guest shot as far as I’m concerned,” Astin said during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “You know, people forget that I’ve done Shaw, Shakespeare, and Eugene O’Neill. This is what I’ve been reveling in since the Addams series went off. After doing Oliver and Rattle of a Simple Man, I was told by writer friends not to do some T.V. guestings. I’ve since done six, covering a wide range of roles.”
Of course, just because Astin had taken on a smaller role didn’t mean that he wasn’t entertaining. Originally, Astin took over the role from Frank Gorshin. Astin’s take on the character provided a new and refreshing take on the role. Despite the character’s villainous nature, Astin’s Riddler was loved by Batman fans everywhere.
“I had very little knowledge of how Gorshin played the role,” said Astin. “I figure the guy’s got to be in love with himself - a narcissist. I play him this way. Striking a few muscle poses. It was fun.”
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