Voice actors always have an important role to play in animated media franchises. Their job is to express the emotions that their characters are feeling only with their voices and it requires an incredible amount of skill and perfection to be able to do it consistently.
Will Friedle is one of the most established voice actors in the industry and once in an interview, the American actor talked about how his debut role as a voice actor was one of the toughest that he had to play.
Will Friedle opens up about working alongside Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill on Batman Beyond
Will Friedle is one of the most established voice actors in the industry and has voiced a lot of iconic characters throughout his career spanning over three decades. The American actor first kicked off his career as an actor back in 1988 and portrayed some supporting roles here before he rose to fame for his portrayal of Eric Matthew in the sitcom, Boy Meets World.
Although the actor made it big, he never had any voice acting experience until he was offered the role of Terry McGinnis aka Batman in the animated series, Batman Beyond.
It can always be tough and scary for a rookie to make it in the industry. Will Friedle ended up feeling this emotion even more so when he was thrust into the movie, Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker which was full of the likes of legendary voice actors like Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill who voiced the characters of Bruce Wayne and Joker respectively.
In an interview with CinemaDebate, Will Friedle opened up about working on the movie and said,
“When you’re sitting between Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, I mean the only reason that might be considered my best performance is because I was playing off those two geniuses and you know, an actor is only as good as the other actors he’s working with and they’re so good. I had to step up my game or I was gonna get buried.
They’re just sitting there, and it’s one of the most fun and memorable moments I will have in my entire voiceover career is recording that movie with those men.”
Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker is currently available for rent on Apple TV+.
Will Friedle talks about if he would be open to returning as Terry McGinnis once again
Batman Beyond covers the story of Terry McGinnis’ version of Batman who is now succeeding Bruce Wayne as the Dark Knight of Gotham City. The story is based in a futurized Gotham almost 15 years from now. Bruce Wayne has now gotten too old to fight the villains and as a result, he is now training McGinnis to become the future guardian angel of Gotham City.
Will Friedle who portrayed the role of Terry McGinnis in the series was once asked in an interview with CinemaDebate if he would like to reprise his role if he was given the chance and the American actor’s answer did not disappoint the fans of DCAU. He said,
“Absolutely. How can you not want to be Batman?”
Batman Beyond was first released in 1999 and quickly gained massive critical acclaim. Although the fans initially doubted if the story would be any good if the focus was shifted from Bruce Wayne to Terry McGinnis, they were proven wrong eventually.
All seasons of Batman Beyond are currently streaming on HBO Max.
