The late actor Kevin Conroy gained worldwide recognition after he voiced the character of Batman in various animated media, starting with 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series. The actor-based his dual-voice performance for Batman on Leslie Howard in the movie The Scarlet Pimpernel. Kevin Conroy has portrayed the character longer than any other actor in live-action or animation.
Fans have always expressed how much they have admired Kevin Conroy’s work as Bruce Wayne and Batman on screen. The actor unfortunately passed away in November 2022 at the age of 66, following a private battle with intestinal cancer. Kevin Conroy often spoke about the fame and success that voicing Batman brought him.
Kevin Conroy acknowledges being the definitive voice of Batman
Actor Kevin Conroy started voicing the character of DC Comic superhero Batman in 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series onwards. He went on to voice the character in The Justice League, Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, New Batman Adventures, and more. In an interview with Star Bust Magazine, ahead of the release of 2016’s Batman: The Killing Joke, he was asked about being seen as the definitive voice of the character. He said,
“It’s funny, because it’s the kind of thing where you book a job as an actor 24 years ago and you don’t even know how many episodes they’re going to buy. And then there’s a second season and a third season, and then Batman: The Animated Series became The Adventures of Batman & Robin, and more…”
The actor further mentioned that individuals might never know how big their character is going to be once they get on board, adding that it’s almost like a snowball rolling downhill. Kevin Conroy further acknowledged his character’s popularity:
“There was no way of telling it was going to be as successful as it was and last as long as I did. I’m the envy of a lot of my actor friends.”
Kevin Conroy was asked if he feels any sense of pressure while portraying the characters on-screen, to which he answered that it is indeed intimidating to approach the characters for comic books. He also mentioned that despite having the temptation to overact, they have to keep everything real. The audience and critics have praised Conroy’s work as Batman’s voice in animated media over the years. His work has helped the series make it through a difficult start and eventually reach cult status.
Over the years, Conroy’s popularity as Batman continued to rise, reportedly making his actor pals envious of him. The actor, who passed away at the age of 66, shared with the publication that he had not expected to be the voice of Batman for almost thirty years, pointing out that he had no idea what the job was going to entail
Kevin Conroy shares his approach to Batman: The Killing Joke
During the interview, the actor was asked about his approach for Batman: The Killing Joke, which was released in 2016. He said he approached it pretty naïvely, as he was not much of a comic book man, unlike his co-star Mark Hamill:
Conroy said,
“Mark always brings me up to speed on this stuff because he really knows everything about animation. It’s amazing. I approach these roles from an actor’s point of view, as an acting job. Once I read the story, I thought, ‘Wow, this is incredibly dark. This is a scary, dark story.”
The actor was also asked about his opinion on the live-action movie; Batman V Superman. He claimed that he personally loved the fact that Batman does not kill people. Conroy explained that the existence of these boundaries that Batman refuses to cross is what made him a fan of the character.
The actor therefore noted that it was disturbing for him to witness the exact opposite in Batman V Superman, and said that he believes it was not necessary. The late actor did not forget to appreciate the performances of Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill as Batman and Superman respectively.
Batman: The Animated Series and Batman V Superman are available on HBO Max.
