Kevin Conroy is an American actor and voice actor. He is best known for his voice role as the DC Comics character Batman in many entertainment media, particularly on the 1990s Warner Bros. television show ', as well as various other TV series and feature films in the DC animated universe. Due to the popularity of his performance as Batman, Conroy went on to voice the character for multiple films under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies banner, the critically acclaimed ' video games, and in fall 2019 he played a live action Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
In 1980, Conroy decided to try his hand in television and moved out to California. He landed a role in the daytime soap operaAnother World. Conroy became associated with the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, where he performed in productions of Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. From 1980 to 1985, he acted in a variety of contemporary and classic theatre pieces, including the Broadway productions of Edward Albee's adaptation of Lolita and Eastern Standard. He told The New York Times that, as a gay man living in New York in the time of the AIDS epidemic, he "went to so many funerals that I felt such a sense of obligation" to portray the character of a TV producer secretly living with AIDS in Eastern Standard. In 1984, Conroy played the title role in Hamlet at the New York Shakespeare Festival. He returned to television in the 1985 TV movie Covenant and had a role on another daytime soap drama, Search for Tomorrow. Conroy played gay lawyer Bart Fallmont on Dynasty from 1985 to 1986. He was a series regular on Ohara in 1987, and as the company commander on Tour of Duty from 1987 to 1988, before starring in a series of television movies. Though initially cast as one of the show's main characters, his role on the show was reduced while it filmed in Hawaii and he ended up spending much of his time doing portraits of tourists on the Honolulu boardwalk. Conroy has also guest starred on shows such as Cheers, Search for Tomorrow, Matlock and Murphy Brown.
As Batman
As a voice actor, Kevin Conroy is best known for his starring role as Bruce Wayne / Batman in the acclaimed '. He continued to voice Batman in numerous animated spin off projects, which collectively took place in what is known as the DC animated universe. These spin-offs include the TV showsThe New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited as well as the theatrical film ', and the direct-to-video films ', ' and '. He also voiced Batman for the character's guest appearances in the DCAU's ', Static Shock and The Zeta Project. Conroy is distinguished for being the first voice actor to use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, which Michael Keaton had previously done in Tim Burton's live-action Batman films. In a tally of performances that include every episode and movie portrayal of Batman in live-action and animation, Conroy has portrayed the character longer than any other actor. The previous record-holder was Olan Soule, who voiced Batman in various animated works between the late 1960s and early 1980s; including Super Friends. Apart from the DCAU, Conroy has also portrayed Batman in the direct-to-video DC Universe Animated Original Movies: ', ', ', ', ', ', ' and Justice League vs. the Fatal Five. After the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Conroy participated in relief efforts by volunteering to cook for police officers and firefighters. During an audio commentary on ', Conroy expressed his surprise at the reaction of the emergency service workers to his presence. At the behest of another cook, Conroy called out from the kitchen to the dining area in his "Batman voice", reciting the iconic line, "I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!" This was greeted by cheers and applause from emergency service personnel, many of whom had been fans of Batman: The Animated Series during its airing in the 1990s. Conroy confessed to being humbled and deeply flattered by the reaction. In preparation for the theatrical release of the 2012 live-action film The Dark Knight Rises, Conroy re-dubbed Christian Bale's Batman lines for an animated version of one of the film's trailers. Conroy stated at the 2013 Dallas Comic Con that he had been working on "the next Arkham", leading to rampant speculation that he would reprise his role as Batman in '. In June 2013, however, it was confirmed that Conroy would not be involved in Arkham Origins, meaning Conroy may have been referring to an yet-unannounced game from the Rocksteady. On March 4, 2014, a new Arkham game titled ' was announced with Conroy reprising his role. He confirmed on Twitter in October 2013 that he had filmed a role on Tim Daly's web seriesThe Daly Show, where Conroy parodied his role as Batman in a fight with Daly parodying Superman. Conroy portrays Bruce Wayne in live-action in the Batwoman'' episode of Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths".
