Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Batman fan. I even splurged on a £400 Batman costume for my superhero-themed 30th birthday party. To put that in perspective, my wife and I eloped years later, and her wedding dress cost less—a fact she enjoys reminding me of from time to time.
My Batman obsession likely began when Michael Keaton donned the cape and cowl during my formative years in the ’80s. For birthdays afterwards, I collected Batman toys and at school we would trade all the collector cards. I tried to pass my love for the Dark Knight onto my 5-year-old nephew years later by buying him an elaborate Batman costume, but I lost out to his generation’s superhero, Tobey Maguire’s Spiderman. Oh well, I tried.
I’ve always adored Batman, devouring every film and cartoon I could find. While I’ve read some comics, nothing compared to the animated series, especially with legends like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill bringing the characters to life.
My first real foray into the Batman universe came early in my voiceover career. Armed with a Harlan Hogan microphone and a collapsible foam cube, I was cast as Scarecrow in a fan-made audiobook of “Batman: The Long Halloween”.
Then came the big moment. My agent called about a secretive project from Rocksteady, the studio behind “Batman: Arkham Knight,” a game I had played obsessively on my PS4. With minimal details, I agreed and headed to their offices in Highgate. The moment I walked in, I was in awe. The place was packed with incredible Batman memorabilia—I was in heaven!
This marked the beginning of a fantastic relationship in the summer of 2017. Rocksteady was developing a new game and needed a placeholder voice during production. Every week or so, I’d visit the studio to record more lines. Under a strict NDA, I never been able to talk about the role… until now. Now that the game has released I can announce that the came was in fact “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League,” and during those development days, it featured me as the voice of Captain Boomerang.
Though my voice was eventually replaced in the final product, the experience was unforgettable. I loved being able to share scenes with Batman, Superman and the like, and have an input into some of the more questionable Australian lingo. Then seeing those lines come to life in the final product was thrilling.
And who knows, maybe someday I’ll get to say…
I am vengeance. I am the night. I. AM. BATMAN!
