Senator in Batman film

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Holy Beltway, Batman! Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has a part in the next Batman movie.

“I don’t wear tights,” he said.

Leahy’s scene for “The Dark Knight” was filmed this summer and involves Batman, played by Christian Bale, the Joker, played by Heath Ledger, and Alfred Pennyworth, played by Michael Caine.

The longtime Batman fan would reveal little about his role other than that he is called the “distinguished gentleman.”

“It’s a pretty tense scene,” said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “It’s going to be a very interesting one.”

Leahy has done voice-overs on Batman cartoons, written the preface for a Batman book and had small roles in the last two Batman features.

He said he would donate his earnings from the film to the Kellogg-Hubbard children’s library in Montpelier, where the senator got his first library card.

“The Dark Knight” is scheduled to be released next summer.