Netflix showrunner Adi Shankar was nervous to meet the incomparable voice actor Kevin Conroy while working on his new Devil May Cry anime adaptation, and he's hardly ever nervous to meet anyone. He wasn't nervous around Brad Pitt, Shankar tells me in a recent interview, or Ryan Reynolds, but Kevin Conroy – who might as well be Batman's true identity after voicing the character for 20 years – made his palms sweat.
"With Kevin – I think it’s just different when someone is so linked to your childhood," Shankar says about working with the actor before his death in 2022. In Shankar's vivid interpretation of Devil May Cry, Conroy plays the original character VP Baines. (No spoilers, but this writer is happy to share that Conroy's performance is striking).
"It’s the same thing with [Dante actor] Johnny Young Bosch," Shankar continues, "because he was the second Black Power Ranger, and I was obsessed with Johnny as a kid."
Netflix's Devil May Cry anime certainly has a voice cast that's bursting with talent – I'm a massive Conroy fan myself, having grown up with his snarl on Batman: The Animated Series, and I was thrilled to hear the show featured another posthumous role from the unparalleled Tony Todd, the original Candyman.
Speaking about both Todd and Conroy, Shankar tells me "these are legendary actors. They’re legendary performers. And, I’m just so, so grateful that they agreed to be a part of this, that we got to have them […] in this universe of the show."
"For Kevin," Shankar continues, "posthumously, I do feel like he’s entitled to some awards here. Maybe for the show, maybe not. But, like, I mean, his contributions to the world of animation are just so vast. I would love for him to be in award conversations."
