You may know him as Eric Matthews in Boy Meets World, Duncan in the beloved TV film My Date With the President’s Daughter, or as the voice of Kim Possible’s spazzy sidekick, Ron Stoppable. But one of Will Friedle’s most iconic characters is ironically the one many people don’t even realize he voiced: Batman, in the 1999 animated series, Batman Beyond. At New York Comic Con earlier this month, we caught up with Friedle about the 20th anniversary of Batman Beyond, the other animated roles it led to, and how the audition process went.
“Knowing nothing about animation when I went in, I always equate it to, ‘oh, you’ve never done a film before? Well now you’re starring in a Steven Spielberg movie,’” he said. “It’s like you’ve got the best of the best around you. What a way to jump into that side of the business.”
Friedle revealed that animation vets like director Andrea Romano, voice actor Kevin Conroy, and DC Comics artist Bruce Timm made him feel incredibly welcome once he was cast, while he was still auditioning, he felt majorly intimidated by such big names.
“You’re coming in, and they’re all staring at you through the glass. I was reading and hoping to just get the hell out of there,” he said. “I think by the second or third time they brought me back I thought I had a chance, but I still didn’t think it was possible.”
But as it turns out, it was possible — and two decades later, fans of the DC universe are still obsessed with the Friedle’s futuristic iteration of Batman. Though, it’s hard not to get excited about a show with an ensemble cast that also features Lauren Tom and the legendary Conroy, who has voiced Batman since Batman: The Animated Series in the 90s. Friedle himself admitted working with Conroy to portray their respective versions of Batman on the show (Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne) was an unforgettable experience.
“The only Batman that’s ever influenced me has been Kevin Conroy. He’ll always be Batman and he’ll always be my mentor in that side of the industry,” Friedle said. “He really took me under his wing, from how to sit down to how to open up your diaphragm. He really mentored me quite a bit.”
Friedle noted that thanks to Conroy’s mentorship, he was able to continue more confidently as a voice actor following Batman Beyond.
“[Voicing Bumblebee in] Transformers was a lot of fun, and playing Star Lord was a lot of fun,” he said of some of his favorite animated characters he went on to play. “And Kim Possible! I mean, Ron Stoppable’s a great character, too. They’re all so much fun.”
He does admit, though, that voicing Batman was a true career highlight — and he’d jump at the opportunity to revisit the character, should fans of the show want it.
“Bruce Timm reiterated this at San Diego Comic Con, that if [the new Batman Beyond box set] does well, there’s a chance that we will maybe do some more episodes, or at least another movie,” he said. “‘Cause we feel like we’re not done yet. It’s still an untapped portion of the Batman universe. So I think we’d all love to jump back into it.”
Stay tuned for more New York Comic Con coverage here.
