When I say, "Batman," who comes to mind? Bob Kane? Sure. But when it comes to film and TV, whose face do you see? The cowl has been worn by dozens of actors over decades. Everyone has their favorite.
Today, we're ranking Batmen. We'll look at some people who played the voice in cartoons, the famous actors who have done their best to portray the world's greatest detective, and rank the actors who have played Batman.
Sound good?
Let's send out the signal.
'Batman' (1966)Credit: Warner Bros.
How Old Is Batman?
The character can range from his 20s to 80s, depending on the story people are telling. As far as the property is concerned, the character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. He debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. And the world changed.
Batman's real name is Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy who masquerades as a businessman by day and a caped crusader by night.
The brain trust of Kane and Finger, plus other creators, also invented his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; partners Alfred Pennyworth, James Gordon, and Catwoman; and villains like Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.
But who actually played Batman throughout the decades?
'The Batman'Credit: Warner Bros.
A List of All The Actors Who Played Batman in Movies and TV
Eleven actors have played Batman on the big and small screen since the 1960s, and you can find the complete list below, organized according to the start of their tenure in the role. The actors who have played Batman are both famous and not.
Check it out.
- Lewis G. Wilson – Batman the TV Show (1943)
- Robert Lowery – Batman & Robin (1949)
- Adam West – Batman (1966)
- Michael Keaton – Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992)
- Val Kilmer – Batman Forever (1995)
- George Clooney – Batman & Robin (1997)
- Christian Bale – Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Bruce Thomas – Birds of Prey
- Ben Affleck – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
- Robert Pattinson – The Batman (2022)
'Batman Begins'Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
A List of People Who Have Played Batman Voices in Animation
As I mentioned up top, the Batman cartoons were really important to me as a kid. And I think Kevin Conroy is probably the most important Batman to me. A few other people have voiced Batman over the years.
- Olan Soule – The Batman & Superman Hour (1968)
- Kevin Conroy – Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
- Will Arnett – The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
- Will Friedle – Batman Beyond
- Rino Romano – The Batman
- Diedrich Bader – Batman: The Brave and the Bold
- Jeremy Sisto – Justice League: The New Frontier
- Bruce Greenwood – Young Justice
- Jason O'Mara – Son of Batman, Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood, and Batman: Hush
- Ben McKenzie – Batman: Year One
- Peter Weller – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
- Jeffery Wright– Batman: The Audio Adventures radio drama
- Winston Duke – Batman Unburied audio series on Spotify
'Lego Batman'Credit: Warner Brothers
All Batman Movies in Order of Release Date
- Batman (1943)
- Batman and Robin (1949)
- Batman: The Movie (1966)
- Batman (1989)
- Batman Returns (1992)
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
- Batman Forever (1995)
- Batman & Robin (1997)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Suicide Squad (2016)
- The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
- Justice League (2017)
- Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
- The Batman (2022)
- DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
- The Flash (2023)
- Batgirl (This one is on the shelf)
'Batman and Robin'Credit: Warner Brothers
Batman Casts
The thing the Batman movies are most famous for besides their set pieces is their casts. Ever since the early Batman TV show, actors and actresses have loved putting on fun costumes and embodying heroes and villains from this franchise.
Take the cast of The Dark Knight Rises, which features Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, alongside Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Morgan Freeman.
And even the recent The Batman sports a cast of Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell.
All Batman movies and TV shows are stacked like this, which makes audiences very excited to see who gets in front of the camera for the next one.
'The Dark Knight Rises'Credit: Warner Brothers
How Many Batman Movies Are There?
There have been 16 Batman-centric movies released. The character has cameos in other roles, but these are counting movies where he has lines and also is marketed as at least one of the leads. The thing is, these movies will keep coming.
As I write this, Matt Reeves is prepping movie 17, with Pattinson set to star again.
Ranking the Actors Who Played Batman
This was a hard post for me to write. I love Batman movies, from the extremely campy to the dark and twisted. They're always interesting investigations. And as far as Batman on the small screen, I feel like I was partially raised by the animated series.
Those Bruce Timm drawings are etched into my brain. And Paul Dini's writing inspired me from a young age.
When it comes to ranking the actors that played Batman, my order is as follows.
- Kevin Conroy – Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
- Christian Bale – Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Michael Keaton – Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992)
- Adam West – Batman (1966)
- Robert Pattinson – The Batman (2022)
- Ben Affleck – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
- Val Kilmer – Batman Forever (1995)
- George Clooney – Batman & Robin (1997)
- Lewis G. Wilson - Batman the TV Show (1943)
- Robert Lowery - Batman & Robin (1949)
'Batman: The Animated Series'Credit: Warner Brothers
Reasoning for My Batman Actor Rankings
When I think about Batman, I think about my youth. For me, getting up on Saturday mornings and watching a cartoon Batman kick butt on the small screen was a huge part of my childhood. When I think about Batman's face, he's a cartoon. And when I think about his voice, I think about the great Kevin Conroy.
After that, I went to the Batman movies I saw growing up. They were the Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan trilogy. They carried me from high school through grad school.
Along the way, I got introduced to the older Batman movies, and while those actors were cool and, I think, did excellent jobs, they didn't reflect the character I was most interested in on screen. I loved the Adam West movie and show. It's a fun thing to just turn on. He ranks high for me for that reason.
But I don't think we ever need another goofy Batman again.
As an adult, I've really appreciated the different things Pattinson and Affleck have done with the character. But they still tank the middle of the pack to me. I like that Affleck let his Batman be kind of fun. I wish we saw more of that.
But the movies he was in never let him be the full star. I think we missed out on a great stand-alone movie from him.
The Batman is an excellent mystery. I just want to see more of Pattinson before I move him up the list.
At the bottom are guys I didn't watch or really know. And let's be honest, they're no Adam West. I refer to the more serious films, so Clooney comes near the bottom. I actually thought Kilmer was an awesome Batman and Bruce Wayne. His movie is just okay, though, which hurt his ranking. I would have loved to see him do a more serious Bat film.
Batman v The Red HoodCredit: DC Comics
Summing Up My Ranking of the Actors Who Played Batman
Hopefully, this was fun for you to read and think about. There are so few historically amazing characters in this world. And Batman is one that has stood the test of time. As we near 100 years with the character, it is interesting to think about where he will go in the future.
Batman has shifted with the times, but our enthusiasm for him remains the same.
What's your Batman ranking?
Let me know in the comments.
