Kevin Conroy Defends Ben Affleck’s Batman

Over the years, plenty of actors have had the opportunity to bring Bruce Wayne/Batman to life across different types of media. And while Ben Affleck might still cause some drama for his portrayal in the DC Extended Universe, it sounds like another actor is in his corner.

Kevin Conroy, who has portrayed Batman in Batman: The Animated Series and other animated projects, was recently asked about the somewhat-frequent rumors surrounding Ben Affleck’s tenure as the Caped Crusader. As Conroy put it, he has been more than willing to defend Affleck’s portrayal in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

“Well, the one thing I will say about that, and I’m not going to get into commenting on actor’s performances.” Conroy explained during a panel at MCM London. “I don’t know if you’re aware, you probably are, in the Twitterverse and on the Internet, there was a lot of criticism when he got cast. Saying ‘Oh my god! He’s going to be terrible!’ And I was telling people ‘Wait a minute! Give this guy a chance! He’s a good actor. Let’s see what he does with it, you know?’”

“And I think he surprised a lot of people.” Conroy continued. “He really pulled it off. I thought he was really good. So I’m more in his court than a lot of people are, I guess. I think people gave him a hard time before they even saw what he would do with it. There’s a lot of pre-judging.”

This certainly isn’t the first time that Conroy has touched on Affleck’s portrayal over the years, with the beloved voice actor previously crowning it the “best” live-action Batman for a very specific reason.

“I love seeing all the different takes.” Conroy revealed in an interview last year. “I think some of them get Bruce Wayne more than they get Batman, and some of them get Batman more than they get Bruce Wayne. I think Ben Affleck has probably gotten the best balance of the two. He’s a really good Bruce Wayne and a really good Batman.”

And when it comes to Affleck’s future as the Dark Knight, things are actually (for the moment) pretty bright. While previous rumors had suggested that Affleck would be planning his exit from the DCEU, needing the role to be recast, a recent report suggests that he will be holding on to the role for the time being. Either way, it sounds like some fans should take a page out of Conroy’s book and hope for the best.

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