Kevin Conroy is a name that ought to ring a bell for DC fans; after all, this is the actor who has lent his voice to the role of the Caped Crusader for years, a tenure than spans Batman: The Animated Series along with Rocksteady’s critically-acclaimed Arkham games.
Conroy will next don the cape, cowl and gravely voice as the World’s Greatest Detective for Batman: The Killing Joke, and while doing the rounds to promote the animated flick, the actor spoke to IGN about all things DC. Talk inevitably turned toward the most recent live-action movie, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it was here that Conroy revealed his distaste for Batman’s killing spree in Zack Snyder’s titanic blockbuster.
Conroy began by admitting that Ben Affleck, like every actor before him, brought something new to the table when stepping into the shoes of Bruce Wayne.
“I liked Michael Keaton and I like what Ben Affleck is doing with it now. But they couldn’t be more different. It’s just the same with the Joker. When I started working with Mark Hammill I thought no one would ever nail the Joker better than Mark Hamill, and then I saw Heath Ledger, and he knocked it out of the park in just a different way.
There are so many valid ways of playing a role. It’s really fun to watch different actors do it. So I thought it was a really interesting choice that WB made to have different actors do the live-action character.”
Later in the interview, the actor then revealed that he wasn’t particularly comfortable with the decision to break Batman’s golden rule:
“In the most recent live action movie, that seems to have been a line that was crossed and it’s not one I’m particularly comfortable with.” It’s a foray into dangerous, morally grey territory that’s acknowledged by Jeremy Irons’ Alfred, stating “that’s how it starts…the fever, the rage…that turns good men cruel.”
Batman V Superman flew back into the bat-shaped spotlight quite recently after Warner Bros. rolled out the comprehensive Ultimate Edition, and in case you haven’t picked it up yet, you can check out our thoughts on it right here.
