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| Written Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 Kevin Conroy had studied for and starred on the stage, advanced his career through soap operas, and was featured in television series like "Dynasty" and "Tour of Duty." But he says he had no idea that stepping into a sound booth in 1991 to audition for his first cartoon voiceover role would forever cement his place in the annals of animation and help to extend the Batman legacy to untold legions of fans. Conroy has been the voice of the Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne for 17 years, beginning with "Batman: The Animated Series" and continuing through 16 films, video games and animated series (covering more than 220 episodes). He reprises the role in "Batman Gotham Knight," the third film in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original movies. From his home in New York City, Conroy spoke at length about the film, his ongoing relationship with the character, and the surprising manner in which he first approached and procured the role of Batman. Q: What are your impressions of the film? Kevin Conroy: It's a really rich experience. The artwork in this film is so beautiful, so amazing. I love the adult-themed animated shows like "The Simpsons" and "South Park" and "King of the Hill." I love the appeal of their writing, the irony, the sense of humor. Those are great animated productions. But you forget just how rich animation artwork can be until you see a film like this. There's just no comparison. I've never seen anything like this in terms of diverse and rich animation in the industry - it's like getting six movies in one. The story is very interesting, especially the way it weaves in and out of Bruce Wayne's history - like the flashback to him training in India, learning to endure pain. It's very well conceived story and I think it enhances a lot of the Batman mythology. I don't think there's any question the fans will love it, because it's such a deep animation experience, and it gives such great background into a character they already love. It's a very positive piece. Q: After three years away from the character, what were the challenges of donning the cape once again? Kevin Conroy: Getting back into the Batman voice was not hard - after so many years, it's so familiar to me now that it's like putting on an old coat. As you live with a character over the years, you fill out the skin. You don't even realize you're doing it. Sometimes they ask during a recording session, "What sound would Batman make here?" or "What would he say here" and they trust me to do that. They know I've been living with him for so long, I know what he'd say, and how he'd react. Q: Batman Gotham Knight has essentially 12 different looks at your characters - nine of Batman and three of Bruce Wayne, varying in design and age range. Were there any challenges to maintaining the consistency of your performance despite voicing to so many different image variations? Kevin Conroy: In the past, we've always treated the shows like a radio play - we recorded the lines and then the animation took place. This time, the artwork came first, and that made the process interesting. Sometimes the artists put extra mouth flaps in, or they made the cadence different from the way I'd usually deliver a line. So we had to work within those parameters and try to time the acting to fill the space. Interestingly, they originally they were going to cast another actor
to do the younger Bruce Wayne, and Andrea (Romano) convinced them to
let me take a stab at it. I had done the younger voice in a number of
the "Batman: The Animated Series" flashbacks, so Andrea knew that I
could do it. And once I got into the studio and gave them a sample,
they were convinced. The challenge is making the distinctions - you
have to make concessions for youth and give the character the sound
of a younger man, while still believably being the same guy. Kevin Conroy: It's that delicate balance you get in voices. As an actor, it's still the same job - it's acting - except that you only have your voice, and you have to be a little more precise in finding the balance. You have to keep it very minimal and you don't want to be too cartoony, but at the same time you only have your voice to tell the story - so you have to juice it up a bit. Sometimes the hardest acting is in the non-dialogue aspects of the performance. As an example, there was one long scream when Batman is falling down a series of ladders into a pit. They recorded that over and over and over again, trying to figure out how to do it just right, and not overdue it. I had to give them lots of variations and I'm sure they picked the best one later. Overall, it was a little challenging with the different artistic styles and the different stories, but it was still Batman. |
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