BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM Behind the Scenes Video Honors Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy's enduring mark on the character of Batman is an achievement very few voice actors can boast. Since his debut as the Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series in the early 1990s, Conroy has become synonymous with the hero's voice for an entire generation. He breathed life into an animated character in a way that not many voice artists can do. He captured the essence of the hero's dual identity, bridging the gap between the billionaire playboy and the vigilante crime fighter.
Over the years, Conroy's voice graced various Batman spin-offs, video games, and animated movies such as Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. He consistently proved that he understood the core of the character like no other. He defined Batman for fans, shaping their perception of the character’s depth, complexity, and internal struggle.
Today, I’ve got a new behind the scenes video for you to watch titled “Kevin Conroy: I Am the Night,” and it puts a focus on Conroy and honors the voice actor for what he brought to Batman. Paul Dini says in the featurette:
“He really really embraced aspects of Batman’s character in a way that no other actor that we had listened to had, and I think that came from the fact that he was not entirely familiar with Batman as a superhero or a pop culture character. He really got into the character from a very Shakespearean angle of somebody who had made sacrifices, who’d lost an awful lot.”
Voice casting director for the show Andrea Romano added:
“He had this wonderful take on what the Batman voice was ... when I asked him about it, [he explained] ‘this is a Hamlet story’—this is a man whose parents have been killed, seeking vengeance. As he brought this kind of elegant take to Batman and Bruce Wayne [that] set him a cut above.”
Conroy himself said in a past interview:
“To be honest I went in like a dumb actor. I really went in on a cold reading... I had no experience with animation. I came up with this very dark voice and I went into this whole other place that no one else had gone to, I guess.”
And one of the great versions of Batman was born from that. You can watch the featurette below, which comes with the recently released 4K version of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.