On the wings of Batman's success in 1989, Warner Bros developed Batman: The Animated Series, continuously touted as one of the best contributions to both the Batman franchise and superhero animation. Though it only ran from 1992 until 1995, it garnered copious praise from its fan base, in many ways due to its incredible cast of voice actors in reoccurring and guest roles.
Both Kevin Conroy as the Caped Crusader and Mark Hamill as The Joker have become immortalized in their respective parts, but with over 240 different actors lending their voices to the citizens of Gotham City and its villains, the rest of the cast was also a Who's-Who of talent. From admired English thespians of the stage to popular actors from Star Trek, there are plenty of big names who voiced characters on the show.
10 DAVID WARNER
Lauded English actor David Warner, known for villainous roles in Time Bandits, Tron, and Titanic, played one of Batman's greatest enemies Ra's al Ghul who, thanks to the effects of the Lazarus Pit, was able to live for over six hundred years.
Unlike the depiction of R'as al Ghul as a mentor to Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Warner's version portrayed The Demon's Head as the Caped Crusader's enemy. He respected Batman's mental abilities as much as he did his physical brawn, and for that reason, he referred to Batman affectionately as "detective."
9 MALCOLM MCDOWELL
Long after he portrayed Alex DeLarge in The Clockwork Orange, esteemed British actor Malcolm McDowell had another villainous turn as Arkady Duvall, the son of batman's great nemesis, Ra's al Ghul. He appeared in one episode, "Showdown" from season 4, which took place almost entirely in 1883.
McDowell portrayed the mentally imbalanced and arrogant Duvall with his usual aplomb, his criminal activity (especially against women) soon landing him in the crosshairs of infamous bounty hunter Jonah Hex (in his first appearance in the DC Animated Universe).
8 KATE MULGREW
Long before she played the infamous "Red" on Orange is the New Black, and shortly before she was cast as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, Kate Mulgrew played the nefarious Red Claw for three episodes.
The character was specifically created for the series (much like Harley Quinn) as a slightly more villainous version of Catwoman, a femme fatale who used terrorism for her own benefit. Her Voyager costar Robert Picardo (who played the sarcastic EMH) also provided a voice, the minor thug Eddie G.
7 JOHN RHYS-DAVIES
John Rhys-Davies has been playing avuncular heroes for the past several decades with roles in the Indiana Jones films and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but in season 1 of Batman: The Animated Series, he played the wily "Baron" Waclaw Jozek.
Together with Josiah Wormwood (Bud Cort of Harold and Maude), Jozek attempted to steal the Dark Knight's cape and cowl. His voice was unmistakably memorable even if he only appeared in a single episode.
6 ADAM ANT
British New Wave and punk singer Adam Ant lent the DC Animated Universe his vocal talents by appearing as Bert (one half of the henchman crew Bert and Ernie), who at Red Claw's behest attempted to kidnap Alfred Pennyworth.
They succeeded only after he had already given notice of his scuffle to Batman and Robin, who appeared outside the Yorkshire Arms to pummel the brutes for information. They attempted to flee by hijacking a double-decker bus but crashed it, bringing to an end any chance for further episodes with Bert.
5 JOHN DE LANCIE
Known to many sci-fi fans as the obsequious Q, the celestial trickster on Star Trek: The Next Generation (which aired at the same time as Batman: The Animated Series), John de Lancie provided equal theatricality to Eagleton over the course of two episodes in season 4.
Eagleton was The Penguin's chauffeur, often driving his limo with Falcone and Sheldrake on the villain's random errands, which included everything from stealing Audubon stamps to the Raven X1-11.
4 ADAM WEST
The original Caped Crusader himself and no stranger to animated series (Family Guy), Adam West appeared in an episode of the series as two different characters; actor Simon Trent and his alter ego The Gray Ghost.
In a spoof of his years playing Batman, West's Gray Ghost was a superhero on a television series Bruce Wayne used to watch as a child with his father. Wayne meets Trent years later when he's a washed-up has-been and impresses upon him the importance of his most famous role in shaping his own crime-fighting persona.
3 LEVAR BURTON
Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation star LeVar Burton lent his voice to the character of Hayden Sloane in the last episode of season 1, "The Worry Men." He's CEO of Sloane Security and Gotham City's foremost financier, as well as a personal friend of Bruce Wayne.
He comes under the influence of a plot by the Mad Hatter involving miniature figurines called "worry men," which when placed underneath their owner's pillow supposedly steal their worries. In reality, they've been implanted with mind-bending devices that make the rich dump their wealth where Mad Hatter can abscond with it.
2 HEATHER LOCKLEAR
Renowned for roles on Melrose Place and Dinastia, bombshell Heather Locklear played the role of Lisa Clark, the daughter of a real estate banker who trusted his financial investments to the evil psychic Nostromos.
Clark appealed to Batman for help, knowing that her father would never cut ties with an adviser who was making him so wealthy. The Dark Knight saved her from being severed by the rings of Saturn when she was tied by Nostromos to the observatory's orrery.
1 RON PERLMAN
The gravel-voiced actor known for starring in the original Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy used his recognizable cadence to bring the notorious Gotham villain Clayface to life.
The character's arc, from actor renowned for impersonations to amorphous villain with the ability to shapeshift, afforded Perlman a chance to inhabit a character with more complexity than some of the other members of Batman's Rogues Gallery. Perlman would play Deathstroke, another famous DC villain in Teen Titans, ten years later.
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June 19, 2020 at 05:30AM
