Kevin Conroy jumped at the chance to portray the Dark Knight in theCrisis on Infinite Earthscrossover event. DC fans never thought they’d see the day when Conroy would get a shot at playing the character in the flesh. The voice actor is arguably best-known for voicing Bruce Wayne and his alter ego inBatman: The Animated Series, along with a ton of other projects dedicated to the Caped Crusader. “In this, I explore a lot of (the) dark corners of Bruce Wayne. But they’re different than the ones I explored onBatman Beyond,” says Conroy.
While fans are excited to see Kevin Conroy asBatmanin theArrowVersefor the first time, he is just as excited to be able to do it. Conroy says he “jumped at” the offer when the producers approached him because he has “always wanted to do it on camera.” Conroy has a deep connection the character and the fans, so he feels it was almost his duty to deliver. He says, “There’s a real loyalty among theBatman: The Animated Seriesfanbase and an interest in seeing me do it on-camera as well.”
Kevin Conroyand The CW are taking advantage of theCrisis on Infinite Earthscrossover event to bring a new version ofBatmanto the small screen. While everybody is excited about Conroy in the Batsuit, that does not mean it was an easy thing to pull off. The actor had to completely rethink how he plays the character. Conroy explains.
“It threw me at first. I never approached this character from that physicalized aspect. I always just inhabited him with my voice. When you do that in a recording studio, it’s a very intimate experience and you’re sort of living in your own imagination. You do it with your eyes closed and you’re in this other world, and you have Mark Hamill feeding you all the energy you (need), and the other actors (because we always recorded together in the booths). To actually be on the set, in the physical world, and to be walking as the character and inhabiting the character in three dimensions, it was a real transition for me. It did take a while to get used to, I have to admit. I was surprised because I know the character so well.”
It may have been difficult to get into theBruce Waynecharacter at first, but Kevin Conroy was able to pull it off, thanks to Ruby Rose and Melissa Benoist. Making the transition from voicingBatmanfor all of these years and then getting the chance to do it live must have been a trip for Conroy and it certainly will be strange for fans too.Crisis on Infinite Earthsproducer Marc Guggenheim has nothing but great things to say about working with Conroy and his ability to channel Bruce Wayne. He had this to say.
“He is stupendous. He is Bruce Wayne. (It’s) just a lot of fun to see this actor who we all mainly know from voice work being on camera. It was really exciting.”
In addition toBatman: The Animated Series, Kevin Conroy has been the go-to voice for the character in animated and video game projects since 1992. Conroy has portrayed the Dark Knight longer than any other actor, which is pretty huge.Crisis on Infinite Earthskicks off withSupergirlon December 8th, followed byBatwomanon December 9th, and thenThe Flashon December 10th. The crossover event will start up again on January 14th, withArrowand then conclude withLegends of Tomorrowdirectly after. The interview with Conroy was originally conducted byEntertainment Weekly.
