Actor provided the definitive voice of Batman
James Nokise gives a personal appreciation of Kevin Conroy, the benchmark for Dark Knight portrayals.
Kevin Conroy
voice actor b November 30, 1955 d November 10, 2022
Who is the greatest Batman? That question has broken friendships, strained relationships and resulted in very loud, if not very physical, confrontations in video stores.
Some prefer the camp joy of Adam West’s 70s TV ‘‘Chum’’, others the dark weirdo of Michael Keaton, or the brooding raspiness of Christian Bale. This year’s The Batman introduced viewers to Robert Pattinson’s young, angsty vigilante, while some fans are still hoping to see another run of Ben Affleck’s older, broken, heavy-handed Bat.
There are even those who appreciated whatever Val Kilmer was doing in Batman Returns, but no-one likes George Clooney’s version, including George Clooney, who continues to apologise to fans 30 years after almost crashing the entire franchise with Batman and Robin.
However, for a generation whose first interaction with Bruce Wayne’s traumatic alter ego was the early 90s Batman: The Animated Series, there is no debate on the greatest interpretation of the caped crusader. For all the arguments over cinematic iterations, the gold batstandard remains the incredible voice work done by Kevin Conroy.
Conroy, who has died aged 66 from cancer-related issues, is not a household name, but for fans of comics, cartoons and superheroes (a much larger crowd than it was in 1992) he was the beloved voice of the Dark Knight for 30 years.
His is the benchmark by which new versions of Batman are measured, with an ability to switch between the Batman/ Bruce Wayne personas that is unmatched. Most recently, the popular Arkham and InJustice computer games series introduced his voice to a new generation.
His Batman voice had a heavy timbre, which he described as the vocal equivalent of a dirty New York street. There was a noticeable weight that appeared when he switched from the millionaire playboy persona to the batthemed vigilante, that instantly made Bruce Wayne seem the disguise.
It was a conscious choice, which Conroy acknowledged came partly from having no real understanding of Batman when he took the role. In fact, he was so oblivious to the importance of the character that he tried to persuade producers to let him audition for Commissioner Gordon instead.
‘‘I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman’’ would be incredibly cheesy in the hands of most actors. Even Pattinson could only manage ‘‘I am vengeance’’, and it was both mocked and deconstructed by the end of his film.
Conroy somehow made it a catch-cry of both defiance and nobility. It was constantly requested by the fans he met who saw that, in his hands, the Dark Knight could actually, in his own way, be chivalrous.
Perhaps the most telling example of this was after the September 11 attacks in 2001, when he volunteered in a New York kitchen to cook for police and firefighters. Another volunteer recognised him, and the various cops and firefighters yelled for Conroy to prove he was Batman, eventually leading to him belting out the catchphrase from the kitchen, bringing cheers and lightening a sombre mood.
Conroy was a New Yorker himself, born in the small village of Westbury, on Long Island, to an Irish Catholic family. His father was an alcoholic and his brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, requiring care from an early age.
He spent his teenage years in Westport, Connecticut, before moving to New York City on a scholarship to Juilliard school of performing arts at the age of 17. There he was part of a class that included Robin Williams, Kelsey Grammer and Harriet Harris. He graduated in 1978, toured theatre for a couple of years, and then moved across to LA.
His early career was a combination of recurring roles on dramas like Dynasty and Tour of Duty, guest roles on comedies like Cheers and Murphy Brown, and C-grade films with titles like Hi Honey – I’m Dead. But before the relative unknown landed the role of his life, Conroy’s career was also plagued by homophobia from within his industry.
Working as a gay actor in the 1980s, he was in the unenviable position of watching close friends die during the Aids epidemic, while also hiding his sexuality for the – well-founded – fear of losing out on work.
He came out publicly in 2016 and his final Bat-related project was an autobiographical comic for DC Pride 2022 titled Finding Batman. In it, he writes about how those often cruel experiences helped him to approach the character: ‘‘As Bruce, I felt disorientated and lost, not sure of my identity as my parents were cruelly yanked from me. I felt disorientated and lost as an actor whose identity was being yanked from him. Was I my public face or my private face?’’
The publisher has now made the comic free online for fans to read. Conroy remains the only gay actor to play the role. He finally portrayed Bruce Wayne in live action in 2019, guesting as an older version of the character in the CW series Crisis on Infinite Earths.
It is hard to overstate the cultural significance of Batman: The Animated Series to the modern superhero genre in film and television. In the United States it is considered, after The Simpsons, to be the second-best animated series of all time. The Emmy-winning show spawned five spinoff series and six animated films.
The noir aesthetic, reimagined artdeco designs and strong orchestral music direction combined with grittier voice acting than was usual for the daytime. The storylines were often dark and tragic, with death, revenge and the psychological trauma often explored.
Conroy’s favourite scene was from Mask of Phantasm, where Bruce Wayne weeps at the grave of his parents, begging them to release him from the vow he’s made. It was a lot for a children’s cartoon, but the stability in Conroy’s performance meant viewers always felt safe from that darkness, which is why so many fans celebrate his portrayal and mourn his passing.
He is survived by his husband, Vaughn C. Williams.
James Nokise is a comedian, podcaster and Stuff columnist.