5. Alastair Duncan
Alastair Duncan is one of the few actors to voice Alfred Pennyworth in more than one Batman adaptation. He’s also perhaps the actor that knows the character the best, as he voiced him for more time than anyone else, including 50 episodes of a TV series, a spinoff movie, three different movies, and a recent adaptation of a classic comic book. Yessir, that’s a lot of Alfreds.
Duncan’s most iconic iteration of the character comes from the 2004 animated series The Batman, which really is a hidden gem of a series. If you know me, you know I take every opportunity to heap praise on the underrated show that I can, and Duncan’s performance as Alfred was one of its greatest strengths.
His Alfred was polite, sure, but he was also remarkably witty and jovial, delivering every cup of tea with a slightly sarcastic comment or a raised eyebrow. Duncan was magnificent in the role. There was a warmth to his portrayal that just defined everything that Alfred should be. Yes, he could be efficient as a butler and heroic figure, but he could also be that loving father figure that Alfred was portrayed as in the comics so many times. And yes, you could feel all of that nuance in his performance.
Duncan would reprise the role in spinoff film The Batman vs. Dracula before returning to it almost a decade later for the three Batman Unlimited movies in 2015. In 2021, he reprised the role again in animated film Batman: The Long Halloween.
We don’t show this veteran Alfred enough appreciation, because he truly is marvellous, Sir.