The Dark Knight Rises star says she "screwed up" the death scene that still angers fans over a decade later

Marion Cotillard in The Dark Knight Rises
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard says she "screwed up" in one scene from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which has been a subject of heated debate among fans for over a decade now.

Reuniting with Nolan after Inception, Cotillard played Wayne Enterprises' CEO Miranda Tate in the sequel to The Dark Knight, released in 2012. Spoiler alert, her character starts as an ally to Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne, but she is later revealed to be Talia al Ghul, an accomplice of Tom Hardy's masked villain Bane.

After trying to kill Batman and destroy Gotham, Cotillard's character dies in a crash. Her death scene sees the French actress delivering a monologue in an awkward position from the truck that’s just crashed. "My father's work is done," she whispers in her last breath. However, the emotional impact of the scene, fans point out, is ruined by the oddness of Cotillard's performance.

The actress agrees. "I didn't nail that scene," she said when a fan asked her about the scene in French TV show Les rencontres du Papotin (via Reddit).

"I couldn't find the right position, I couldn't find the right way... I was stressed. Sometimes it happens, we screw something up. And this, I screwed up", she added.

As a recurrent debate among The Dark Knight fans since the movie was released, this is not the first time Cotillard talks about it. Back in 2016, she addressed the scene in an interview with Allociné.

"Sometimes there are failures, and when you see this on screen, you're thinking: 'Why? Why did they keep that take?' But either you blame everyone or nobody. But I thought people overreacted, because it was tough to be identified just with this scene. When I'm doing the best I can to find the authenticity in every character that I'm playing, it's tough to be known just for this scene".

For more, check out our list of upcoming movies in 2025.

Mireia Mullor
Contributing Writer

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.

Read more
Joker: Folie À Deux Easter eggs
Lady Gaga addresses Joker 2 backlash: "People just sometimes don't like some things"
Memento
Guy Pearce reveals that he thinks he's "sh*t" in Christopher Nolan's Memento, as he reflects on its 25th anniversary: "I hate what I did"
Creature Commandos
Creature Commandos star Maria Bakalova reacts to that shocking death scene from the finale: "I didn't want her to die"
Florence Pugh reveals why she "can't do" roles like Midsommar again: "I’ve been broken for a long while afterwards"
Angela Bassett in Black Panther 2
Angela Bassett thought she was "deserving" of an Oscar for Black Panther 2: "I put in good work over time"
Batgirl movie
Unearthed Daredevil-like fight scene from DC's canceled Batgirl movie gives us a taste of what we could have had
Latest in DC Movies
James Gunn
James Gunn reacts to Jason Momoa almost spoiling his Lobo costume in an interview: "I just want to profoundly thank Jason’s publicist"
Jason Momoa next to Lobo
Jason Momoa has gone method taking on the role of Lobo: "I asked everybody to call me by my character's name"
Batgirl movie
Unearthed Daredevil-like fight scene from DC's canceled Batgirl movie gives us a taste of what we could have had
Jason Momoa in A Minecraft Movie
Jason Momoa says the DCU's Lobo is "exactly like" the comic book character in upcoming Supergirl movie
Guy Gardner Green Lantern in Superman
Nathan Fillion says his version of Green Lantern in James Gunn's Superman is "a jerk": "He's not nice, which is very freeing as an actor"
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Zack Snyder celebrates 4 years of the Snyder Cut of Justice League: "Still humbled by the fact that this exists at all"
Latest in News
Dune Awakening
Dune Awakening launches for $50 without a stay in early access, and while the survival MMO "will not have a monthly subscription" it will have "optional" paid DLC
Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton in Hawkeye
Linda Cardellini cast as Jason's mom, the original Friday the 13th killer, for Crystal Lake prequel series
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red won't make survival games just because they're popular, but Netflix's Edgerunners anime is fueling dreams bigger than RPGs
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe actor was terrified to perform until her first mocap scene earned "a standing ovation" on set: "Maybe I can do this mocap thing"
Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel may have just sneakily confirmed one of the biggest Daredevil: Born Again fan theories
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Yasuke actor says that Naoe could beat his samurai in a fight: “Especially with that big a** helmet of mine”