Where The Batman: The Animated Series Cast Members Are Now

Regarded by many DC Comics fans as the definitive depiction of the Dark Knight and his iconic rogues gallery, "Batman: The Animated Series" has an inescapable legacy as one of the greatest cartoons and comic book adaptations of all time (perhaps tied for the number-one spot with "X-Men: The Animated Series"). Every aspect of production was executed by a stacked creative team that approached each step with a sobering amount of reverence — most notable among them being composers Danny Elfman and Shirley Walker, writer-creators Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, and voice director Andrea Romano.

Romano in particular had a talent getting radio drama-like performances out of an ensemble of impeccably cast actors, many of whom had been pulled from classic noir films and television crime dramas. Today, several decades after the series went off air, their work remains nigh-irreplaceable, leaving legacies that continue to impact the future of Batman and DC Comics.

But what happened to the cast of "Batman: The Animated Series" after the show ended?

Having voiced Gotham City newscaster Summer Gleeson in all four seasons of "Batman: The Animated Series" (a replacement for the classic Batman love interest Vicki Vale), Mari Devon returned to the role three years after the series finale for the direct-to-DVD movie "Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero." Additionally, while Devon did not voice Gleeson for the character's cameo in "Batman Beyond," she did voice the minor recurring character Miss Winston (an accomplice of the overarching villain Derek Powers / Blight).

In 1999, Devon was cast in the anime series "Digimon Adventure," a children's fantasy and adventure program based on a Japanese toy line in the same vein as "Pokémon." She became a stalwart in the burgeoning "Digimon" franchise, voicing numerous characters (most notably Togemon) in several subsequent series and video games throughout the early 2000s and returned for its brief TV resurgence in the late 2010s. She also voiced the character Honey Hatter in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's 2002 film "Howl's Moving Castle."

Since voicing Togemon once more in 2020, Devon has had only one other, minor voice acting role. It has been broadly assumed (though seemingly not confirmed by the actor herself) that she has retired from acting.

When Kevin Conroy first auditioned to be in the cast of "Batman: The Animated Series," he was originally vying for the role of unscrupulous Gotham Police Detective Harvey Bullock. Of course, he ultimately nabbed the title role, while Bullock went to veteran film actor Robert "Bobby" Costanzo, adding yet another layer of quality and authenticity especially to episodes like "A Bullet for Bullock." Costanzo also voiced the recurring Joker henchman Rocco. He reprised his role as Detective Bullock multiple times after the series ended, including in "Superman: The Animated Series," "Static Shock," and the video game "Batman: Arkham Origins."

The same year the original series ended, Costanzo guest starred on "Friends" as Joey Tribbiani Sr., the father of Matt LeBlanc's beloved character. Over a decade later, when NBC attempted to conjure up a spin-off for his character titled "Joey," Costanzo was invited to reprise his role in a season 2 episode. In 1998, he was cast to replace Danny DeVito as the voice of Philoctetes for a sequel series to Disney's "Hercules." Costanzo became Disney's go-to voice for the character thereafter, bringing him back for various series, video games, and direct-to-DVD films. He continues to work in both voice and on-camera acting, recently appearing in episodes of "9-1-1," "Tacoma FD," and "Tulsa King."

For the first two seasons of "Batman: The Animated Series," Brock Peters voiced Lucius Fox, the trusted steward of Wayne Enterprises (who was later famously portrayed by Morgan Freeman in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy). He also voiced the Minotaur in the Riddler-centric episode "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?"

Peters' prolific film career stretches back to the '50s, with roles in "Porgy and Bess," "Soylent Green," and most notably "To Kill a Mockingbird" (in which he starred as Tom Robinson). After making his final appearance on "Batman," he went on to voice characters in "Captain Planet and the Planeteers," "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters," "The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest," "Johnny Bravo," "Samurai Jack," "The Wild Thornberrys," and "Static Shock."

In 2005, Peters died due to complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 78 years old.

Henry Polic (then best known for his starring role on the ABC sitcom "Webster") voiced the fearsome Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow in the 1st and 3rd seasons of "Batman: The Animated Series," last appearing in the episode "Lock-Up." He did not voice the character outside the original series, with B-movie legend Jeffrey Combs taking over for "The New Batman Adventures" in 1997.

Polic, meanwhile, went on to guest star on episodes of "Mighty Max," "Profiler," "Sheena," and "She Spies," and landed roles in the films "All You Need" and "Bring Him Home." His final role was in the 2004 TV movie "Combustion."

In 2013, Polic died due to complications from a reportedly longtime cancer diagnosis. He was 68 years old.

Acclaimed Shakespearean stage actor David Warner made his debut as the enigmatic Batman foe "Ra's al Ghul" in the season 1 episode "Off Balance," before playing a central role in the two-part episode "The Demon's Quest" later that same season. He reprised the role twice after "Batman: The Animated Series" ended — first in the "Superman: The Animated Series" episode "The Demon Reborn," then in the "Batman Beyond" episode "Out of the Past."

Warner continued to be heard on popular animated series throughout the following years, playing the Archmage on "Gargoyles," Dr. Frankenstein on "Toonsylvania," The Lobe on "Freakazoid!" (a role he reprised in a 2020 episode of "Teen Titans Go!"), and the evil scientist Herbert Landon on 'Spider-Man: The Animated Series." On film, he had memorable roles in "Scream 2," "Titanic," Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes," and more recently "Mary Poppins Returns" (pictured above). He was also a fixture in the sprawling library of "Doctor Who" podcast series, voicing a wide variety of characters including the Doctor himself.

Sadly, several episodes of those podcasts were released after Warner's death in 2022 from a reported cancer-related illness. He was 80 years old.

Though casting Paul Williams as the Penguin may not seem like an obvious choice at first (the charismatic singer-songwriter doesn't give off the same vibe as, say, Burgess Meredith from the 1960s series, off whom "Batman: The Animated Series" partially modeled their character design), it wound up being a stroke of genius. He voiced the character in several episodes in the series' 1st and 3rd seasons, as well as in episodes of "Superman: The Animated Series" and "The New Batman Adventures."

After the first series, Williams' acting career continued to grow with guest starring roles on "The Tick," "Walker, Texas Ranger," and "The Savage Dragon." In 1998, he was cast as Bailey Masterson for a 33-episode stint on "The Bold and the Beautiful."

In the past decade, he has played the Hierophant in "Adventure Time," the weapons dealer The Butcher in Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" (pictured above), ex-lawyer James "JT" Reginald III on "Goliath," and the villain Brainiac in the direct-to-video movie "Superman: Red Son." In 2020, the same year he appeared in the latter film (his most recent acting credit at the time of publication), Williams' iconic song "Rainbow Connection" — originally written for "The Muppet Movie" and performed by Kermit the Frog — was honored with an induction into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

Diane Pershing was already something of a cartoon legend before she landed the role of Dr. Pamela Isley — also known as the beguiling ecological villain Poison Ivy — on "Batman: The Animated Series." She was a core voice cast member of the "Flash Gordon" franchise through the '80s, voicing Dale Arden in the 1979 series and Dynak X in the spin-off "Defenders of the Earth." She also had prominent voice roles on "Dungeons and Dragons," "Centurions," "The Real Ghostbusters," and "She-Ra: Princess of Power."

She returned to the role of Poison Ivy several times after "Batman: The Animated Series" ended, including in "The New Batman Adventures," the spin-off "Gotham Girls," "Static Shock," "Justice League," and the 2001 video game "Batman: Vengeance." Speaking of the gaming world, Pershing branched out of the DC Universe through the video game medium, finding roles in "Baldur's Gate" and "Baldur's Gate II," "Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura," and "White Night Chronicles." Her final acting role was as Alice McBride in "Fallout: New Vegas" in 2010.

Like Diane Pershing, Adrienne Barbeau stayed close to the DC Universe after "Batman: The Animated Series" ended. Selina Kyle had been a standout character for most of the series' run, with memorable appearances in the arguably peerless "Perchance to Dream" (an essential episode for any new fan of the series to watch, in which Barbeau also voices Martha Wayne) and the highly underrated "Cat Scratch Fever." She played Catwoman again in "The New Batman Adventures" and "Gotham Girls" and voiced other characters in "Batman Beyond" and the video game "Batman: Arkham Asylum."

Barbeau worked as much in the recording booth as she did in front of a camera, eventually being cast as one of the leads in HBO's short-lived drama series "Carnivàle." Following several guest starring appearances on shows like "Dexter," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Cold Case," she was cast as Suzanne Stanwyck in "General Hospital," appearing in 66 episodes from 2010 to 2011.

More recently, Barbeau could be seen in episodes of "Swamp Thing," the 2019 revival of "Creepshow," Netflix's "Cowboy Bebop," "9-1-1," and J.J. Abrams' HBO series "Duster." In the 2024 two-part animated adaptation of Alan Moore's classic comic book series "Watchmen," she voiced the aging superheroine Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre.

The last (but obviously not least) of the so-called "Gotham Girls," Arleen Sorkin's Harley Quinn is inarguably the best original character created for "Batman: The Animated Series," and she might just be the most enduring and impactful aspect of the series today. Harley is not only one of the most popular comic book characters of all time but also a pop culture icon represented by memorable appearances in the "Batman: Arkham" video game series, a brilliant HBO animated series, and live-action portrayals by Academy Award-nominated actors Margot Robbie and Lady Gaga.

Though her physical appearance and origin story have been dramatically reworked numerous times throughout these subsequent adaptations, the one constant anchor for the character has been the irreplaceable, taunting Brooklyn accent Sorkin created. She reprised the role in "Superman: The Animated Series," "The New Batman Adventures," "Static Shock," "Justice League," and "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker," as well as in the video games "Batman: Arkham Asylum" and "DC Universe Online." Even after she stopped voicing the character in 2012, the actors who succeeded her rarely deviated from her definitive performance.

Apart from Harley Quinn, Sorkin played few roles in the latter years of her career. Originally best known for playing Calliope Jones on "Days of Our Lives," Sorkin returned for episodes in 2006 and 2010. Two years after her final appearance on the show, she seemingly retired from acting. In 2023, she died at the age of 67 due to complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis.

Richard Moll voiced both Harvey Dent / Two-Face and the artificial intelligence program in the Batcomputer in "Batman: The Animated Series." As the former character, he was perfectly cast from the hit NBC legal sitcom "Night Court" and was one of the show's most psychologically complex characters. His strangely insightful "Trial" of none other than Batman himself stands out as one of the series' best episodes overall, and his return to Arkham Asylum in "Second Chance" showed how well Moll could play Two-Face at his most maniacal and ruthless, as well as his most tragic.

After "Batman," he landed recurring roles on "Mighty Max," "Getting By," "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "The Incredible Hulk" (playing Bruce Banner's archnemesis The Abomination), and "Spider-Man: The Animated Series" (as the villain Mac Gargan / The Scorpion). He also returned for "The New Batman Adventures" and "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" as Two-Face and played other roles in DC Comics projects "Justice League" and "Smallville." On film, Moll's most popular roles were in "But I'm a Cheerleader" and "Scary Movie 2." In 2023, Moll died at the age of 80.

Another alum of the classic animated series "Defenders of the Earth," Loren Lester made his debut as Robin in the season 1 episode "Fear of Victory." It wasn't until about 20 episodes after that that the series would dig into his tragic origins as Dick Grayson in "Robin's Reckoning," a series of episodes that earned "Batman: The Animated Series" an Emmy.

Lester played Robin in several subsequent DC Comics animated series and films (as recently as in the 2017 film "Batman and Harley Quinn"), in addition to having memorable roles on "Hung" and the soap operas "General Hospital," "The Bold and the Beautiful," "The Young and the Restless." He acted consistently as a television guest star throughout the 2000s and 2010s before landing a role in the national tour of the acclaimed musical "The Band's Visit" in 2021. In 2024, he made his Broadway debut in the revival of "Cabaret."

"Batman: The Animated Series" found Bob Hastings at the end of his 60-plus-year career as a film and television actor, his resume including prominent roles in multiple long-running series like "Kitty Foyle," "McHale's Navy" (pictured above), "All in the Family," and "General Hospital." He voiced Commissioner Jim Gordon for the first three seasons, reprising the role in "Gotham Girls," "Static Shock," and the 2003 movie "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman."

Seven years after his last turn as Commissioner Gordon, Hastings did his last voice role in the 2010 video game "Mafia II," and he basically stayed out of the public limelight. He died in 2014 at the age of 89, due to complications from cancer.

Aside from Kevin Conroy, no voice actor worked on as many episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series" as Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who voiced Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth. The year the series ended, he was cast to play another butler — and, more notably, the iconic comic book villain Doctor Otto Octavius — on "Spider-Man: The Animated Series." He recurred throughout all five seasons.

Zimbalist also continued to voice Alfred in other DC projects in the '90s and early 2000s, his tenure ending with "Justice League" in 2004. After a decade in near-total retirement from acting, he died at the age of 95.

In retrospect, it's kind of amazing to realize that Mark Hamill wasn't a prolific or even particularly prominent voice actor when he was cast on "Batman: The Animated Series." As he learned the hard way when he was denied the chance to reprise the role of Mozart (which he had portrayed on Broadway) in the film adaptation of the stageplay "Amadeus," "Star Wars" had made Hamill so recognizable that Hollywood decision-makers were concerned that no one would be able to see his face and believe he was anyone but Luke Skywalker. And yet, despite ending somewhat in professional tragedy, playing Mozart gave Hamill something that would ultimately prove far more valuable – his signature laugh for the Joker.

After debuting as a different character in the iconic episode "Heart of Ice," Hamill lobbied to be given a series regular role. His laugh landed him the Joker, replacing Tim Curry (who had ironically originated the role of Mozart in "Amadeus"). Hamill's Joker is remembered as a perfect embodiment of the character, as well as one of the greatest cartoon performances of all time. He has reprised this role innumerable times, most notably in the acclaimed "Batman: Arkham" series and most recently in "Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths" in 2024.

Hamill briefly retired from on-camera acting before appearing in "The Fall of the House of Usher" (pictured above), "The Life of Chuck," and "The Long Walk," and he has recently voiced Skeletor in "Masters of the Universe," Granduncle in "The Boy and the Heron," Pumpkinhead in "The Sandman," and superhero costume designer Art Rosenbaum in "Invincible." At 74 years old as of writing, he is regarded as one of the greatest living voice actors.

Even after Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson, "Batman: The Animated Series" star Kevin Conroy remains the greatest Dark Knight we've ever heard. His sensitive and deeply personal approach to the dual identities of Bruce Wayne allowed him to nail an unexpected audition for the character, unknowingly earning him the chance to redefine a literary icon for generations to come. Conroy was Batman.

After "The Animated Series" ended, he returned to the role prolifically, first in "The New Batman Adventures." In the 2000s, as the DC Animated Universe solidified itself on TV, Conroy played an older, retired Bruce Wayne in "Batman Beyond" and reprised his original take on the character as one of the leads of "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited." In 2009, he reunited with Paul Dini for the video game "Batman: Arkham Asylum," a critical and commercial success lauded for its story and performances. It spawned two direct sequels, both of which starred Conroy. 

Other notable Batman performances from Conroy include "Injustice: Gods Among Us," "Batman: The Killing Joke" (which saw him reunite with Mark Hamill), the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (his first and only portrayal of the character in live action, pictured above), and the 2024 animated film "Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part Three." The last film was Conroy's final time voicing Batman, released after his death at the age of 66 in 2022.