Bale and Nolan discuss Bane's controversial voice

'The Dark Knight Rises' director Christopher Nolan and Batman himself, Christian Bale, have spoken about Tom Hardy's portrayal of the villainous maniac Bane in the film.

[Related story: The tragic story of the original Bane]

Of particular note was Hardy's strange use of accent for the role.

Hardy has said it was intended to sound like a man prematurely aged by pain.

“Really, the main personality of Bane's voice had to come from Tom and his performance,” said Nolan in 'Gotham's Reckoning', a short documentary included on the film's Blu-ray release.

“And what he did with it was extremely surprising at first. It's an extremely peculiar take on what the voice would be - but once you've heard it for five minutes or so it becomes essential to the character.”

Nolan added that there were hints of acting legend Richard Burton in the accent, as well as 'a camp English villain... but just off-centre'.

“As soon as you put on a mask as an actor, you have the freedom to adopt a character,” continued Nolan. “Like Halloween, you put on a mask and you could be absolutely anybody.”

Bale also gives his input in the doc, adding: “Tom is a very bold actor; he had some wonderful ideas about how Bane should sound. I thought it was a great collection of inspirations that Tom chose.”

The Blu-ray and DVD release of 'The Dark Knight Rises' is out on December 3.