(CTN News) – When actor Hamish Linklater was cast in the part of the Dark Knight in the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, he was faced with a challenge that can only be described as admirable.

Kevin Conroy, who passed away recently, was the person responsible for providing the voice of the Dark Knight in a variety of different mediums.

Since Linklater had already committed to playing Bats in the impending Prime Video series, it was only natural for him to feel a great deal of pressure to live up to this expectation.

In the course of a roundtable session that took place at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 with GamesRadar+ and other members of the press, Linklater admitted that he had initially attempted to construct his Batman voice by imitating Conroy. However, he immediately understood that this was a mistake.

” Batman was one of my favorite television shows:

The Animated Series when I was growing up, and I always thought Kevin Conroy was the voice of God,” he stated, as he went on to say, “but I hadn’t watched the show in a minute when I got the audition.”

Because I kept going back and listening to it in the hopes of finding and hearing that voice that would lead me to Batman, I smashed my phone to death while I was sitting in my car.

I was trying to discover and hear that voice that would lead me to Batman. After I came to the realisation that I was only trying to get Kevin’s voice, I realised that I had gotten as near as I possibly could.

After some time had passed, Linklater developed his own rendition of the Caped Crusader; nonetheless, the most challenging aspect was actually discovering his voice as Bruce Wayne.

The actor acknowledges that he is still working on it, saying, “It has taken me longer to feel comfortable with Bruce than Batman because in the first season, there is a lot more Batman than Bruce.” The fact that it is also Hamish’s Batman week two, on the other hand, makes it an even more advantageous possibility. Because I haven’t been working here for a very long time, I’m picking up new skills as I go along.

After that, Linklater went on to say that Bruce Timm, the well-known showrunner of Caped Crusader and the co-creator of Batman: The Animated Series, had some words of wisdom to share with regard to this matter:

“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 1940s sound like?

For inspiration, Batman watched Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart movies.

In spite of the fact that Linklater is plainly delighted by the opportunity to bring the well-known hero to life in this animated series, he admits that he is not overly enthusiastic about portraying the character in the live-action adaptation.

Despite the fact that the actor will be well-known to many people due to his past performance in Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass and his future part as the new Dean of the university in Gen V season 2, Linklater is of the opinion that the actor does not possess the essential screen presence to play the role of the Dark Knight.

He burst out laughing and commented: “Well, it’s pretty cool to see an animated version of myself but I don’t know how much fear it would strike into the hearts of criminals if Hamish Linklater strutted down the street in spandex!”

Despite the fact that Linklater does not consider himself to be the most suitable candidate for the part, he does have someone in mind who he thinks would be the perfect live-action Batman.

Before the question of “who would be a great live-action Batman for James Gunn’s DC Universe” had ever been completely raised, Linklater said the words “Glen Powell!” The actor, however, drew the attention of the public relations professionals in the room and laughed off any further queries about it before asking, “Am I not allowed to say that?”

This occurred before he could expound on the reasons he chose the actor who had previously appeared in Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick for the role. Then perhaps you should keep your eyes peeled!

SOURCE: GRN