{"id":4009,"date":"2008-05-14T22:00:59","date_gmt":"2008-05-14T20:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicbox.com\/?p=4009"},"modified":"2008-05-15T08:42:37","modified_gmt":"2008-05-15T06:42:37","slug":"kevin-conroy-discusses-voicing-title-character-in-batman-gotham-knight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.comicbox.com\/index.php\/news-english\/kevin-conroy-discusses-voicing-title-character-in-batman-gotham-knight\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Conroy Discusses Voicing Title Character In \u00ab\u00a0Batman Gotham Knight\u00a0\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/a>\"\"<\/a>[ENGLISH] From WB Animation:<\/strong> Kevin Conroy had studied for and starred on the stage, advanced his career through soap operas, and was featured in television series like \u201cDynasty\u201d and \u201cTour of Duty.\u201d 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.\u00a0Conroy\u00a0quickly became the Batman voice by which all others are judged \u2013 and rarely assessed\u00a0as an equal. He has cast a loud shadow in voicing the Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne for 17 years, beginning with \u201cBatman: The Animated Series\u201d and continuing through 16 films, video games and animated series (covering more than 220 episodes). He reprises the role in triumphant fashion in \u201cBatman Gotham Knight,\u201d the highly-anticipated third film in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Batman Gotham Knight\u00a0\u00bb will arrive July 8, 2008 on DVD and Blu-Ray disc, and will also be available that day On Demand via digital cable and for download through broadband sites. The film is produced as a collaboration between DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Animation. The film will receive its world premiere at Wizard World Chicago in late June.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Question: What are your impressions of the film?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Kevin Conroy: It\u2019s a really rich experience. The artwork in this film is so beautiful, so amazing. I love the adult-themed animated shows like \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d and \u201cSouth Park\u201d and \u201cKing of the Hill.\u201d 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\u2019s just no comparison. I\u2019ve never seen anything like this in terms of diverse and rich animation in the industry \u2013 it\u2019s like getting six movies in one.<\/p>\n

The story is very interesting, especially the way it weaves in and out of Bruce Wayne\u2019s history \u2013 like the flashback to him training in India, learning to endure pain. It\u2019s very well conceived story and I think it enhances a lot of the Batman mythology.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any question the fans will love it, because it\u2019s such a deep animation experience, and it gives such great background into a character they already love. It\u2019s a very positive piece.<\/p>\n

Question: After three years away from the character, what were the challenges of donning the cape once again?<\/p>\n

Kevin Conroy: Getting back into the Batman voice was not hard \u2013 after so many years, it\u2019s so familiar to me now that it\u2019s like putting on an old coat.\u00a0 As you live with a character over the years, you fill out the skin. You don\u2019t even realize you\u2019re doing it. Sometimes they ask during a recording session, \u201cWhat sound would Batman make here?\u201d or \u201cWhat would he say here\u201d and they trust me to do that. They know I\u2019ve been living with him for so long, I know what he\u2019d say, and how he\u2019d react.<\/p>\n

Question: Batman Gotham Knight has essentially 12 different looks at your characters \u2013 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?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Kevin Conroy: In the past, we\u2019ve always treated the shows like a radio play \u2013 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\u2019d usually deliver a line. So we had to work within those parameters and try to time the acting to fill the space.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cBatman: The Animated Series\u201d 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 \u2013 you have to make concessions for youth and give the character the sound of a younger man, while still believably being the same guy.<\/p>\n

Question: At its core, this film represents several different perspectives of Batman, providing many different layers to the character. Can you discuss that range of emotions the film explores, and to what depths you reach to capture those emotions?<\/p>\n

Kevin Conroy: It\u2019s that delicate balance you get in voices. As an actor, it\u2019s still the same job \u2013 it\u2019s acting \u2013 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\u2019t want to be too cartoony, but at the same time you only have your voice to tell the story \u2013 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\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n

Question: The legions of Batman animation fans have hailed you as the definitive voice of the character. How did you originally settle on that particular voice?<\/p>\n

Kevin Conroy: To tell the truth, after reading the original script, I really went to audition for the character voices \u2013 like Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Like most actors, I really love to be challenged, and I thought they\u2019d be more interesting and really push me. And then Bruce (Timm) and Andrea (Romano) said they wanted to hear me do Batman. The only exposure I\u2019d had was the campy Adam West live-action series, and they said that wasn\u2019t what they wanted. So I put myself into a very dark place in my voice, and my voice got deeper and darker and huskier, and it came out very mysterious. I really just took a stab at what I thought the voice would be, and then I saw Bruce and Andrea and Paul (Dini) running around the booth, so I knew I either was very good or very bad. That\u2019s how it started — just me in a sound booth, them on the other side of the glass describing the character, and then the voice just came out of my imagination. And it worked. So initially I was much more interested in doing the character voices, but luckily they talked me into Batman.<\/p>\n

Question: Do you require a certain mindset to approach the voice of Batman?<\/p>\n

Kevin Conroy: There\u2019s an emotional place I go to \u2013 Bruce (Timm) says he see it in me in the booth. It\u2019s much more a psychology than just producing the sound. Batman is very complex. The Bruce Wayne voice is the real put-on. This is a guy who saw his parents murdered in front of him, and nobody would be normal and together after that. He feels like a freak inside. So to do the voice, you have to take on all that drama.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why everyone relates to Batman \u2013 because everyone feels like a freak inside. Everyone has ghosts that they don\u2019t want to show anyone else. All of us feel like we have that inside us. For me, that\u2019s one of the most interesting aspects of the character \u2013 that a super hero would ultimately be based on that inner-freak that we all feel that we have.<\/p>\n

Question: In your mind, what\u2019s special about playing Batman?<\/p>\n

Kevin Conroy: I think what I didn\u2019t anticipate about voicing Batman was the fact that I was playing an icon \u2013 I just didn\u2019t take into account how much Batman meant to so many people. Coming from a very conservative background, and not having extensive exposure to comic books and the character, it just never occurred to me. So in the beginning, I only thought of it as an acting job.<\/p>\n

Question: And now \u2026 you\u2019re an icon in the Batman universe?<\/p>\n

Kevin Conroy: I\u2019m always flattered that people actually know who the voices are. It seems to me such an anonymous job. But periodically, somebody recognizes me \u2013 it happened in a furniture store recently. To me, that\u2019s truly amazing \u2013 first that someone knows who does the voice, and it\u2019s even more amazing that someone would know the face of the voice. I think a lot of the reason that I\u2019m so linked to Batman is because I\u2019ve been doing it for so long. Before \u201cBatman: The Animated Series,\u201d there really hadn\u2019t been a voice aside from Adam West. People knew Batman from the campy live action series, and the fans knew the Dark Knight comic books, but there hadn\u2019t been a voice associated with the character, and certainly not a dramatic voice. I think I just lucked out because I was the one who started with it, and people grew up with that voice.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0Batman Gotham Knight\u00a0\u00bb (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc.
\n\u00ab\u00a0Batman\u00a0\u00bb and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and
\n(c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ENGLISH] From WB Animation: Kevin Conroy had studied for and starred on the stage, advanced his career through soap 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