Kevin Conroy calls Mr. Freeze of Batman The Animated Series “heartbreaking”

The Batman voice actor pays tribute to a late Mr. Freeze actor on his birthday with a heartwarming tweet about a performance utterly “heartbreaking.”

Batman: The Animated Series had a very accomplished and eclectic cast, including Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill, and Hellboy’s Ron Perlman, but you can count on a lot of people who watched the lauded DC toon being unable to name everyone verbatim who stepped behind a microphone to play one of Gotham’s antiheroes or nefarious denizens.

A name most might not recognize right off the bat is Michael Ansara although he was pivotal in bringing the tortured soul of Mr. Freeze to life in all his tragedy and pathos. The origin story for the icy villain fans came to know and embrace largely emanates from the way he was written and portrayed by Ansara in the ’90s series.

It’s someone’s birthday

Longtime Batman voice actor since that time, Kevin Conroy, fondly remembered his co-star and the coldness of the legacy he left behind by venerating both in a tweet on Ansara’s birthday. “I’ve been so lucky to work with many incredible actors. Michael Ansara’s performance as [Mr.] Freeze was [heartbreaking],” Conroy wrote.

Freeze’s animated tale of loss, longing, isolation, and revenge became the standard for years to come — and also made it into the script of Batman & Robin. Ansara played his part in that equation for several years in Batman: TAS, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, and the straight-to-video movie Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero. 

Career highlights

Prior to his time in the voice world, Michael Ansara had a decorated career as a player in Westerns — usually as an Indigenous American character despite his Lebanese background — and in genre films like the Exorcist ripoff The Manitou which has gained a cult following in recent years for its weirdness.

He also had a recurring role as Klingon Commander Kang on three iterations of Star Trek (Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and the original series), and for his many TV appearances earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ansara is, in fact, one of four actors who played Mr. Freeze over the years to have this honor. The other three are George Sanders (Children of the Damned), director Otto Preminger, and the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Each of those should stand the test of time for another generation or two. However, we are curious about your opinion on Michael Ansara’s Mr. Freeze in particular. Leave us a comment on where it ranks among your favorites and tell us your memories of Batman: TAS while you’re at it.