Kevin Conroy Advises On How To Be Batman
When it comes to adaptations of characters, especially takes that have been done for cartoons, games, or live-action shows or movies, everyone has their favorite. This goes especially for Batman, who has had near innumerous takes done on the character. One of the most popular versions by far is voiced by Kevin Conroy. Who has literally voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman for over 20 years, starting with Batman: The Animated Series, all the way to the recent Killing Joke animated film.
In a sitdown with IGN, Conroy talked about what makes Batman the character he is, as well as how to play him as that character,
“Well, the key to playing Batman for me has been the fact the persona of the Bat – the character of the Bat, the putting on of the mask – is not the performance. The performance is Bruce Wayne. The real essence of the man is Batman. That’s when he’s his most comfortable; he’s at his most naked, most emotionally raw when he’s in the bat cave alone. When he goes out to Wayne Technologies. faces the world and puts on a suit – that’s the performance.”
He also acknowledges that there are plenty of ways to play the character, and yet still be very true to him and the material:
“And there have been so many actors that have been wonderful. I liked Michael Keaton and I like what Ben Affleck is doing with it now. But they couldn’t be more different. It’s just the same with the Joker. When I started working with Mark Hammill I thought no one would ever nail the Joker better than Mark Hamill, and then I saw Heath Ledger, and he knocked it out of the park in just a different way.”
Finally, he noted how the fans are one of the best parts of the Batman mythos:
“The thing I’ve discovered is the audience for Batman is the most loyal and the most passionate you’re going to find for any franchise. They know everything about the character. They understand him.”