George Clooney jokes he was a better Batman than Ben Affleck

MANILA, Philippines — Actor George Clooney quipped that he was the best actor to have ever portrayed Batman onscreen, even better than Ben Affleck.

Clooney was at a Royal Film & TV Magnet open house in Santa Monica, California where he talked about working in the film industry, and even sneaked in a rib on his stint as Batman in 1997's "Batman & Robin"

"You  look at me and you just think, 'Oh he's the best Batman,'" Clooney said, much to the delight of the crowd. "I know what you're thinking!"

Clooney called on "Avengers" actor Don Cheadle, who was in the audience, to back him up and Cheadle mentioned Ben Affleck, who played Batman between 2016 and 2021 from "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" to Zack Snyder's version of "Justice League."

George Clooney jokes that he's the best #Batman: "Ben Affleck, really? He's got nothing on me!"

via - @chrissgardner pic.twitter.com/ttN3qpSnXu

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 14, 2022

Clooney, apparently repeating what Cheadle said amid laughter from the crowd, joked that Affleck was just "the best available" at the time.

"I mean really, Ben Affleck? Really? He's got nothing on me!" Clooney exclaimed, again drawing laughs from the people in attendance.

Affleck will be reprising his role as Batman in the upcoming "Aquaman" sequel and the much-delayed "The Flash" movie, the latter also having another former Batman actor Michael Keaton portraying his version of the hero from 1989.

Apart from Clooney, Affleck and Keaton, actors who have played Batman on the big screen include Christian Bale, Val Kilmer, Adam West, and most recently, Robert Pattinson.

Clooney's latest movie "Ticket to Paradise" reunites him with "Ocean's" franchise co-star Julia Roberts in what will be Clooney's first romantic-comedy in nearly 20 years.

RELATED: Julia Roberts, George Clooney reunite for rom-com 'Ticket to Paradise'