With new series Batman: Caped Crusader, actor Hamish Linklater was faced with an impossible task - following in the footsteps of the late icon Kevin Conroy, the man behind the voice of the Dark Knight in various media including the much beloved Batman: The Animated Series.
Naturally, this was very much on the mind of Linklater as he signed up to play Bats in the brand new Prime Video show, feeling the weight on his shoulders. Speaking to 12DOVE and other press at a roundtable at SDCC 2024, Linklater admits that early on he was chasing an imitation of Conroy when trying to find his Batman voice, soon realizing that was a mistake.
As he explained: "I grew up as a massive fan of Batman: The Animated Series and Kevin Conroy was like the voice of my god in my head, but I hadn't seen the series in a minute when I got the audition. I was sitting in my car with my phone and I beat it to death, I kept going back and listening to it as I wanted to hear and find that voice to find Batman. I got as close as I was going to get but then I realized I was actually just chasing Kevin's voice."
Eventually Linklater found his own take on the Caped Crusader, but discovering his voice as Bruce Wayne was surprisingly a more difficult challenge. In fact, it's something the actor says he's still working on: "It's certainly taken longer to feel comfortable with Bruce than Batman - there's a lot more Batman than Bruce in the first season. But that's what is also helpful about it being week two of Batman, is that it's also Hamish's Batman week two. I haven't been on the job very long so I'm finding it as I go along."
Continuing, Linklater added that the legendary Bruce Timm (who co-created Batman: The Animated Series and is showrunner on Caped Crusader) had some words of wisdom to offer here: "Bruce Timm was like 'Batman is the person, that's the human being, Bruce Wayne is in the invention' so it was like what would a millionaire lothario in the '40s sound like? Batman was watching movies of Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart, that's the sound he tried to invent."
Although Linklater clearly enjoys bringing Bats to life in this animated series, he admits that he isn't keen on portraying the iconic hero in live-action. Whilst the actor will be a familiar face to many having made an impression recently in Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass and will soon be seen as the new university Dean in Gen V season 2, Linklater doesn't think he has the right on-screen presence to depict the Dark Knight. Laughing, he said: "I don't know, I think it's pretty cool seeing the animated version of me, I don't know how much fear it would strike in the hearts of criminals if Hamish Linklater was striding down the street in his spandex!"
However, whilst he doesn't think he's the right man for the job Linklater does have a name in mind for who would be the perfect choice for the next live-action Batman. Before the question of 'who would be a great live-action Batman for James Gunn's DCU' was even finished being asked, Linklater instantly replied: "Glen Powell!" But before he could explain why the Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick star would be his pick for the role, the actor shut down any further questioning on the matter laughing "am I not allowed to say that?" after catching the eyes of PRs in the room. Keep your eyes peeled then, perhaps!
All episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader are now streaming on Prime Video. For more, here's what actor Minnie Driver had to say about how her mother-in-law inspired her take on The Penguin.
Also check out the best shows on Prime Video and our guide on how to watch the DC movies in order.
