DC Animated Universe
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This article is written from the Real World perspective Bruce Timm
Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy (born November 30, 1955 in Westbury, New York - died November 10, 2022 in New York City) was an American actor, best known for providing the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the DCAU and other DC media.

History[]

Kevin Conroy was raised in "very strict Catholic schools" growing up. He began his acting career in 1973 at the age of 17, performing off-Broadway. While attending Julliard's Drama Center, Conroy would befriend Robin Williams, and learn his craft under John Houseman's direction. After graduating in 1979, Conroy toured with Houseman's The Acting Company, followed by a national tour of Deathtrap. He later starred in productions of King Lear, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Eastern Standard, and Lolita. In 1985, Kevin's career shifted mainly towards television, where he appeared as a regular in Dynasty, O'Hara, Tour of Duty, and Rachel Gunn R.N.

Speaking on his audition for Batman, Kevin Conroy noted "My agent said 'They're casting an animated series; why don't you do some voices?' So I went in and did a cold audition. The producers said, 'The character's nickname is the Dark Knight. Use your imagination. What sound do you think a Dark Knight would make?' And so my voice got deeper, becoming this husky, deep, very dramatic sound. They said, 'That's exactly what we want.'"[1]

DCAU filmography[]

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman/Bruce Wayne

Feature films

Video games

The New Batman Adventures

Batman/Bruce Wayne

Superman: The Animated Series

Feature film

Video games

Batman Beyond

The Zeta Project

Feature film

Static Shock

Justice League

Justice League Unlimited

Background information[]

  • Outside of the DCAU, Kevin Conroy voiced the character in many different projects, including direct to video feature films, TV shows, animated shorts, theme parks, and video games. Conroy portrayed the character longer than any other actor in live-action and animation.
  • Coincidentally, Conroy shares a birthday with the late Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (Alfred Pennyworth).
  • Conroy used two different voices (the second to do this after Michael Keaton) for Batman (one for Bruce Wayne and one for the Dark Knight) on Batman: The Animated Series. While still different, the voices became much closer to each other on The New Batman Adventures. For Batman Beyond, he used a much gruffer voice for Bruce Wayne's elderly incarnation, and less gruff and softer voice for Batman on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
  • Conroy provided the voice of the character in The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence, Batman: Gotham Knight, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham Underworld, Batman: Arkham VR, DC Universe Online, Justice League: Doom, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Injustice 2, Justice League Action, Lego DC Super-Villains and MultiVersus. In 2019, Conroy portrayed the character for the first time in live-action in the Batwoman episode of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
  • On Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast, Conroy revealed that he had originally auditioned for the role of Harvey Bullock, saying "I thought that'd be a really fun character."[2]
  • The 2024 animated movie Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three, which featured an Earth based on Batman: The Animated Series and the overall DCAU, features the final performances Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker, with Conroy's being a posthumous role due to having passed away in 2022.

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. "The Noble Voice" by Bob Miller - Comics Scene Magazine #40 (February 1994)
  2. BATMAN! KEVIN CONROY talks Anxeity, Traumatic Childhood, and Robin Williams - YouTube
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