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In 1992, Pfieffer delivered the most purrrrrfect performance of Catwoman, stealing every scene in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, with audiences licking up her twisted take on Selina Kyle. 

But another actress had initially landed the role, according to Pfeiffer, who was "completely obsessed" with the character when she was younger. 

"When I heard that Tim was making the film and Catwoman had already been cast, I was devastated," Pfeiffer told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. "At the time, it was Annette Bening. Then she became pregnant. The rest is history. I remember telling Tim halfway through the script that I'd do the film, that's how excited I was."

To prepare, Pfeiffer mastered kickboxing and handling the whip, though she had a bit of an incident with her trainer.  "On our first day together, I caught his face with the whip and it drew blood," she revealed. "It completely shattered me." Don't worry, she went on to perform all of her own whip stunts in the film.

Oh, and that scene where her Catwoman has a live bird in her mouth? Pfeiffer really did that, with Burton telling THR, "I don't think I've ever been so impressed. She had a live bird in her mouth while the camera was rolling. It was four or five seconds, and then she let it fly out. It was before CGI, it was before digital."

Looking back on the scene, Pfeiffer admitted, "What was I thinking? I could've gotten a disease or something from having a live bird in my mouth."

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