Kevon Conroy Wanted HIs Batman to Sound Like Adam West's

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Conroy Wanted to Channel Adam West for Batman: The Animated Series

By Geoff Miller

Published Sep 5, 2017

On the 25th anniversary of Batman: The Animated Series, Kevin Conroy reveals his initial inspiration for the leading character was Adam West's Bright Knight.

Since its debut 25 years ago, Batman: The Animated Series has been revered as one of the most iconic adaptations of the title character, ever. And as fans know, one of its driving forces is the voice behind the cowl: Kevin Conroy.

With a domineering tone for Batman and insouciant cadence for Bruce Wayne, to this day Conroy approaches the Dark Knight with slightly different voices for both of his personas. However, the actor recently revealed that a very different inspiration jumped to mind when he initially accepted the role.

"As a kid, I had a very conservative Irish-Catholic upbringing. So when [B:TAS co-creator] Bruce Timm asked me what I knew about Batman, I immediately mentioned the TV show and he screamed, 'No, no, no! That's not what we're doing. Erase that!'" Conroy told The Hollywood Reporter. "He explained the dark, noir story and Bruce's vow to his parents which leads to the dual identities. It was sort of Shakespearean tragedy, so I approached it like you would Hamlet or Edgar in King Lear."

Although the animated series obviously ended up taking the character on a darker path, Conroy's first instinct of leaning towards Adam West's portrayal shows just how iconic the Bright Knight was.

Batman: The Animated Series ran from 1992-1995 as a part of the Fox Kids animation lineup, and its first season can be streamed in its entirety on Amazon Prime video.