Where Are The Batman: The Animated Series Cast Now, 32 Years Later (2024)

Batman: The Animated Series had an incredible cast of dedicated voice performers back in its day, many of whom have done amazing things with their careers both before and since. Considered to be one of the greatest adaptations of Batman of all time, let alone among animated Batman TV shows, Batman: The Animated Series owes much of its success to its incredible voice cast. A huge part of the series' notoriety can be attributed to the prestigious cast.

Many of the voice actors involved with Batman: The Animated Series became famous for their work in the show, but that doesn't mean their careers began and ended with the beloved 90s cartoon. Many have gone on to feature in worthy performances both live-action and animated, or have even pursued ventures beyond TV or movies, such as music. While tragic deaths like the still relatively-recent passing of Kevin Conroy have also made their way into the cast of the show 32 years later, there are so many performances branching out from the series to celebrate.

10 Kevin Conroy

Left behind a legacy as the definitive voice for Batman

By far the most famous cast member of Batman: The Animated Series due to his participation in the show, Kevin Conroy has become a legendary name in the DC fandom, and for good reason. When he was cast as the voice of Bruce Wayne and Batman, Kevin Conroy was a modestly successful theater and television actor with no clear breakout role, guest starring in well-known procedurals like Cheers and Matlock. Upon being cast in Batman: The Animated Series, however, Conroy soon became the most beloved of Batman's many voice actors.

Long after the series had ended, Conroy went on to voice Batman in many other animated movies, TV shows, and video games, most notably the Rocksteady Studios Arkham series. Sadly, Conroy passed away in 2022 at the age of 66 due to intestinal cancer. He had recorded several Batman performances that were released posthumously, with the most recent and final being Batman's appearance towards the end of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part 3.

9 Bob Hastings

Provided a stalwart voice for Commissioner Gordon

While Robin and Batgirl might be more famous as Batman's sidekick, the importance of Commissioner Gordon as Batman's stalwart friend and champion on the Gotham Police Department was not lost in Batman: The Animated Series.Gordon was voiced by Bob Hastings, who had previously become a highly-decorated voice actor working primarily on Hanna Barbera cartoons of the late 60s to mid 70s, including Super Friends. Hastings was also no stranger to live-action, garnering fame as Lt. Elroy Carpenter in McHale's Navy, as well as other classic early television shows and movies.

After playing Commissioner Gordon in Batman: The Animated Series, Hastings would reprise the role in other DC animated projects, such as Superman: The Animated Series and Static Shock. Commissioner Gordon made up the majority of his post-Batman: The Animated Series roles, but he'd continue to find his way into other voice acting projects, including video games like Jak and Dexter: The Precursor Legacy. Bob Hastings passed away in 2014 at the age of 89, having left behind a beloved legacy of voice acting appearances.

8 Mark Hamill

By far the most famous cast-member of the series

If there's one cast member who sticks out for his fame among the cast of Batman: The Animated Series, it's Mark Hamill. Hamill is known far and wide as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars movies, making him a recognizable face in live-action media. But Hamill's voice acting skill may have almost eclipsed even this famous character, as proven by his incredible giggling malice as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. To this day, Mark Hamill is a very active performer.

Hamill returned to the movies as Luke Skywalker in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy, but is perhaps more prolific these days as a solely vocal performer. Some of his most well-known characters outside the joker include the evil Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender and the wise, Sasquatch-like park worker Skips in Regular Show. While Hamill returned to voice the Joker opposite Conroy in a great many projects, following Conroy's death, Hamill retired his Joker voice out of respect for his long-time friend and fellow performer.

7 Loren Lester

An impressively prolific actor to this day

No good Batman is complete without a Robin, and Loren Lester faithfully provided life to the Boy Wonder throughout the entirety of Batman: The Animated Series and the follow-up series The New Batman Adventures, which gave his take on Dick Grayson more of the spotlight. Prior to this, Lester was best known in animated circles for his work on the original G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Beyond his vocal work, however, Loren Lester's filmography expands to a massive library of other roles.

Lester is a highly-prolific character actor, having appeared in a myriad of minor roles in live-action TV shows and movies both before and since Batman: The Animated Series. In particular, his television accolades are quite impressive, appearing in series like Curb Your Enthusiasm, NCIS, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. His most recent role was in the film Senior Love Triangle, a romantic drama that was released in 2019.

6 Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Essentially ended his career with Batman: The Animated Series

The DCU's version of Alfred Pennyworth brought a sense of gravitas and old-world charm to the character that could've only been delivered by someone as experienced as Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Zimbalist was a Purple Heart-awarded veteran of World War II, giving his voice a real sense of experience to the famous British butler, himself a dedicated veteran as well. For Zimbalist, Batman: The Animated Series was the cherry on top of a long, laudable acting career.

Following the war, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. got his start acting on Broadway before being poached by Hollywood to star in numerous TV and film productions. Among the most noteworthy is his position as Inspector Lewis Erskine in The F.B.I., which ran from 1965 to 1974. Following his work as Alfred Pennyworth, Zimbalist primarily played himself in a handful of docuseries on the Golden Age of Hollywood before passing away at the age of 95.

5 Melissa Gilbert

Became more famous as an advocate for actors

Melissa Gilbert is yet another of the prestige actors Batman: The Animated Series managed to nab for its main cast, including Melissa Gilbert as Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl. Gilbert first became famous as an actress at a tender age, playing Laura Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie. While this role in particular would go on to give her national fame, Gilbert continued to experience success as an actress in other projects, including Batman: The Animated Series.

Gilbert didn't return to the role for The New Batman Adventures, passing the torch of Batgirl on to the omnipresent voice actress Tara Strong. Gilbert went on to star in serialized and feature dramas, including the 2019 film Guest Artist most recently. These days, Gilbert is more famous for her role as the President of the Screen Actors Guild from from 2001 to 2005.

4 Adrienne Barbeau

Has had a varied filmography since Batman: The Animated Series

While Catwoman has had plenty of live-action appearances, she was also something of a staple in Batman: The Animated Series. Luckily, Adrienne Barbeau was there to provide a sufficiently sultry voice to the infamous anti-hero cat burglar. Prior to the cartoon, Barbeau had been an incredibly prolific actress, particularly well-known for her appearances in science fiction and horror films such as Escape from New York, Creepshow, and Swamp Thing.

Barbeau's accolades as an actress both on and off-screen didn't end there, however. In the early 2000s, Barbeau gained further acclaim for her character Ruthie on HBO's Carnivàle. More recently, the 79-year-old actress has continued to subsist in horror, mystery, science fiction and drama projects, such as Netflix's Cowboy Bebop, American Horror Stories, Harlan Corben's Shelter, and 2022's Hellblazer, not to mention continued voice acting in video games such as Starfield and Spider-Man 2.

3 Robert Costanzo

A character actor typecast in similar roles

Commissioner Gordon may be the more well-known figurehead of the Gotham City Police Department for his favorable views on Batman, but Batman: The Aniamted Series put near-equal emphasis on the less popular cynic Detective Harvey Bullock. Bullock was voiced in the series by Robert Costanzo, a seldom-recognized yet highly-acclaimed character actor behind a horde of smaller, but memorable roles. Costanzo is typically typecast as a salt-of-the-earth New York City crook, police officer, or blue-collar worker.

Detective Harvey Bullock was the perfect role to emphasize such a skill set, and Costanzo's career has gone on to include a litany of other similar characters. His most recent appearances include comedy series like Tacoma FD and crime dramas like 2021's Dutch. Notably, Costanzo also tends to fill-in for Danny DeVito in certain voice acting roles, such as Hercules' trainer Philoctetes in the spin-off television series and video games of Disney's Hercules.

2 Arleen Sorkin

Bookended her iconic career with Harley Quinn's creation

The creation of Harley Quinn was one of the most notable achievements of Batman: The Animated Series, spawning a Batman character popular enough to be incorporated into the comics and star in her own movies and TV shows. This couldn't have been possible without the hilarious and poignant vocal performances of Arleen Sorkin, who gave Harley Quinn her original trademark New York accent. This choice can solely be attributed to Sorkin's own vocal inflections, which inspired the character in the first place.

Before playing Harley Quinn, Arleen Sorkin was best-known as Calliope Jones on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, which has released episodes from 1965 all the way to the present day, now having a streaming home on Peaco*ck. After coming back multiple times as Harley Quinn in the DC animated universe, Arleen Sorkin appeared again in live-action in an episode of Fraiser. Following this, Sorkin tragically passed away at the age of 67 due to complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis.

1 Paul Williams

Better known for his musical talents than his acting

A varied performer in multiple mediums, Paul Williams is a true renaissance man behind the voice of The Penguin in Batman: The Animated Series. Rising to fame as a music producer behind 70s hits such as An Old Fashioned Love Song and Rainy Days and Mondays, Williams quickly became acquainted with the film industry thanks to his work producing original soundtracks, which allowed him to sneak into acting in a variety of cameo appearances. This eventually led to him being cast as Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin.

Most recently, Williams has continued to appear in a handful of acting roles in films both live-action and animated, including Baby Driver and Superman: Red Son. Williams has also returned to the world of children's cartoons with roles in Adventure Time and Twelve Forever. It seems clear that Batman: The Animated Series had a surprisingly profound effect on the music producer/songwriter's varied career.

Batman: The Animated Series

4.5

Batman: The Animated Series is an award-winning adaptation of the Batman mythos. Remembered for its groundbreaking art style and orchestrated soundtrack, Batman: The Animated Series features the Caped Crusader and countless characters from his rogues' gallery. Kevin Conroy lent his now-iconic voice to the Dark Knight, with the show also featuring the voice talents of Mark Hamill (as the Joker) Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn), John Glover (the Riddler), Ron Perlman (Clayface), and David Warner (Ra's al Ghul).

Release Date

September 5, 1992

Seasons

4

Network

HBO Max

Streaming Service(s)

HBO Max

Franchise(s)

Batman

Writers

Bruce Timm

Showrunner

Bruce Timm

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