TheDCUseems to be creating a new version of the famous Batman villain Bane, adding to an alreadyexpansive list of performers to portray the Venom-indulgent bruiser.Theupcoming Bane and Deathstroke team-up moviehas been confirmed by the DCU, giving credence to the rumors of solo Batman villainmoviesthat have been circulating around the upcoming DC movie continuity. While Deathstroke has only been played once in live-action movies, Bane has a couple of prominent film appearances, not to mention a bevy of other appearances.
The original Bane of the comics is an international criminal from the fictitious Caribbean country of Santa Prisca, where he was raised from birth among detested convicts in a dangerous prison. After being exposed to the dangerous experimental “Venom” serum and gaining super strength, Bane famously heads to Gotham, where he snaps Batman’s spine, becomingone of the few villains to “break” The Dark Knight both mentally and physically.Various aspects of Bane have been represented by his different depictions inBatman movies and TV shows.
8Jeep Swenson
Batman & Robin
Despite the infamy of Joel Schumacher’sBatman Foreversequelas one of the worst Batman movies ever, only one member ofBatman & Robin’s castis most famous for his role in the film.The very first live-action incarnation of Bane came courtesy of professional wrestler Jeep Swenson. Jeep’s version of Bane was a simple-minded brute who serves as a henchman of Poison Ivy, with grotesque black veins spiderwebbing across his body thanks to his use of the Venom serum.
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Jeep’s Bane was more of a background character, but he was quite entertaining in the few moments he got to shine. Even if this witless version of Bane lacked the character’s tactical acumen from the comics, seeing him place bombs while literally muttering “bomb” in a cartoonishly evil voice every time he sets one down is a hilarious image.Jeep Swenson’s time as Bane was his biggest brush with stardom, but his acting career tragically ended shortly afterBatman & Robin’s release when he sadly passed away due to steroid-related heart complications.
7Tom Hardy
The Dark Knight Rises
Long afterBatman & Robin,Christopher Nolan put forth his own take on Bane to end The Dark Knight trilogy with the filmThe Dark Knight Rises.Here, Bane is an outcast member of the League of Assassins who gets another shot at bringing about violent revolution to Gotham City following Talia al Ghul’s rise to power.This Bane is famous for his face mask that constantly feeds him a supply of painkillers, resulting in his signature muffled voice that has since become something of a joke.
Tom Hardy is a very accomplished actor outside of Bane, perhaps better known in the superhero space for his portrayal of Eddie Brock, a.k.a. Venom, in Sony’s Venom trilogy.
Tom Hardy is a very accomplished actor outside of Bane, perhaps better known in the superhero space for his portrayal of Eddie Brock, a.k.a. Venom, in Sony’s Venom trilogy. He’s also no stranger to blockbusters in general, playing Max inMad Max: Fury Roadand other Christopher Nolan films likeInceptionandDunkirk.Hardy’s Bane might not have been very similar to the familiar villain of the comics, but the actor still managed to craft a memorable comic book movie villain with a unique voice and ideology.
6Shane West
Gotham
Like most Batman villains,Gothamput forth its own unique take on Bane,played by Shane West. In the fifth and final season, arguablythe best season of Gotham, Bane is introduced in the form of Eduardo Dorrance, a former military comrade of Commissioner Gordon’s who returns to Gotham after being made a prisoner of war.
After being grievously injured, Hugo Strange gives Eduardo a respirator and armor, turning him into the villain Bane. As Bane, Eduardo goes on to wage war against Gotham’s law enforcement alongside The Penguin and The Riddler. For the most part,Shane West is a dedicated TV actor known for a number of other syndicated dramasbesidesGotham.
He’s most recognizable for his roles as Dr. Ray Barnett inERand Eli Sammler in ABC’sOnce and Again.While he also has a litany of lesser-known movie appearances, his most recognized cinema character is likely that of Tom Sawyer in another comic book movie, 2003’sThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
5James Adomian
Harley Quinn
Of course, like any DC superhero character, Bane’s animation and voice acting incarnations are far more numerous than his live-action depictions.The most recently notable actor to lend his voice to the role of Bane is James Adomian, who plays Bane in both the superhero black comedyHarley Quinnand its spin-off series,Kite Man: Hell Yeah!
This version of Bane is a strange amalgamation of Swenson and Hardy’s, with the costume and dim-witted personality of the Bane fromBatman & Robinpaired with a parody version of Bane’s voice inThe Dark Knight Rises.James Adomian is more of a comedian than an actor, best known for his work on projects likeChapo House, Comedy Bang! Bang!,andThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
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A talented impressionist known for satirizing political figures like George Bush and Bernie Sandersin various film and TV projects, it’s no wonder Adomian is so great at mimicking Tom Hardy’s strange Bane cadence. Adomian also briefly voiced Bane in an episode of the cartoon seriesTeen Titans Go!
4Henry Silva
The DC Animated Universe
Considering the entire DC Animated Universe largely owes its existence toBatman: The Animated Series,its no wonder that Bane has had a litany of appearances throughout the continuity’s many projects. Bane shows up several times inthe DCAU timeline, played by Henry Silva, whogives the supervillain a strong Latin accent indicative of his origins in Cuba, which replaces the fictitious nation of Santa Prisca from the comics.
Other than this change, Silva’s version of Bane is quite comic-accurate, being both wickedly smart and terrifyingly strong with the effects of Venom. Like many actors cast in the original lineup ofBatman: The Animated Series,Henry Silva was once a dedicated character actor with a career spanning multiple decades.
Silva was often typecast as a dangerous or criminal character in his TV and movie appearances, often following around the Rat Pack in movies likeThe Manchurian Candidateor the originalOcean’s 11.Sadly, Silva only recently passed away in 2022 at the age of 95, leaving behind a staggering list of credits, with Bane’s voice only barely registering as a small blip on his expansive roster of TV characters.
3Fred Tatasciore
Various Video Games
Far be it from live-action movies and animated series being the only place for a Batman villain to make a name for himself, with Bane also enjoying a number of appearances in video games over the years. In many of them,Fred Tatasciore provides the voice of Bane, taking notes from Silva’s performanceto flavor his vocal texture with a similar Latin accent. Tatasciore plays Bane in Rocksteady’sBatman:Arkhamseries,Lego Batman: The Video Game, andInjustice: Gods Among Us,plus its sequel.
Fred Tatasciore is one of the most prolific voice actors of the modern age. Tatsciore has appeared as the commanding voice of gruff military types in video games, like Soldier 76 inOverwatchand Damon Baird in theGears of Warseries. However, he’s also quite prolific in the animated comic book movie and TV show space as well, voicing characters like The Hulk, Solomon Grundy, and Hit-Monkey, not to mentionLooney Tunesfavorites like Yosemite Sam and Taz the Tasmanian Devil.
2Danny Trejo
Young Justice
Though he didn’t appear in many episodes, one would be remiss not to mentionDanny Trejo’s brief run as Bane in the TV seriesYoung Justice.Trejo’s distinct gravely voice makes for an excellent Bane, who is both super strong and a tactical genius that gives The Team no end of trouble.
In his most prominent episodes, Bane battles the Kobra cult over control of Venom production, eventually having to break his own addiction to the powerful super steroid.One of the most evil and faithful interpretationsof Bane ever, this version is a known associate of the terrifying villain groupThe Light.
One of the most evil and faithful interpretations of Bane ever, this version is a known associate of the terrifying villain groupThe Light.
Danny Trejo needs little introduction as the star of theMachetemovies, playing the titular blade-wielding killer with cold ferocity.Trejo’s other greatest hitsincludeFrom Dusk Till DawnandDesperado.Curiously, Danny Trejo reprized the role of Machete, reworked into a kindly uncle and brilliant inventor, in theSpy Kidsfilm series, also directed byMachete’s Robert Rodriguez.
1Every Other Bane Voice Actor
Carlos Alazraquivoices Bane in theanimated Justice League movieJustice League: Doom.Here, Bane is a member of the titular Legion of Doom, a dark reflection of the Justice League populated by famous DC villains. Alazraqui is an actor and comedian with an extensive range of vocal performances, including the video game character Spyro, Crocker inTheFairly Oddparents,and Rocko the Wallaby fromRocko’s Modern Life.Alazraqui has returned to the role in various movies, includingBatman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants,andBatman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Steve Blumplays Bane inLego Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite.Not to be confused withThe Lego Batman Movie, this 2013 direct-to-video film was actually an adaptation ofLego Batman: The Video Game. Blum is an American voice actor known for his distinctive deep timbre, famous for characters like Spike Spiegel from the animeCowboy Bebop,Sub-Zero from theMortal Kombatvideo game series, or Starscream as he appears inTransformers: Prime.
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Eric Bauzavoices Bane inLego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout, yet another direct-to-video Lego Batman movie. Eric Bauza is best known for providing his voice to variousLooney Tunesprojects, filling in for Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian, and even Bugs Bunny himself. Something of a vocal character actor, Bauza is often hired to fill in a wide variety of distinctive vocal performances, effortlessly mimicking many famous characters like Stimpy fromRen and Stimpyor even Luke Skywalker from theStar Warsmovies.
Doug Bensonplays Bane inThe Lego Batman Movieopposite Will Arnett’s Lego Batman, a voice for the character that has become quite distinctive. Like James Adomian, Bane’s voice here is a parody of Tom Hardy’s Bane voice, though his minifigure retains a comic-accurate costume. Benson is primarily a comedian, hosting podcasts and talk shows likeDoug Loves Movies, The Benson Interruption,andGetting Doug with High.Most notably, he stars as the subject of the pseudo-documentarySuper High Me,a cannabis-focused take on Morgan Spurlock’s famous documentarySupersize Me.
Kenta Miyakegives an interesting take on Bane in the unique animated filmBatman Ninja.Like everything else in the film, this version of Bane is inspired by Feudal Japan, appearing as a massive sumo wrestler with a comic-accurate mask. Miyake is a Japanese-language voice actor with a dizzying list of credits in anime, film, and video games, with notable roles such as Scar inFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhoodand fellow musclebound grappler Zangief in theStreet Fighterseries.
Adam Giffordvoices Bane in the movieBatman: Hush,which introduced the titular villain alongside smaller threats like Bane. As well as Bane, Gifford played Clayface in the same movie, though he ultimately went uncredited. Gifford isn’t yet a widely-recognized voice actor, but is mostly known for his roles in video games, where he holds many “Additional Voices” credits used to fill out a given game’s cast.
Chris Sullivanplays Bane in the animated Christmas movie,Merry Little Batman,which saw Batman eradicate crime in Gotham once and for all to prepare for the arrival of his son, Damian. Like every other character in the film, Bane is cartoonishly exaggerated and grotesque, with one of his most inhumanly muscular designs ever topped with a strangely terrifying bespectacled mask. Sullivan is an actor and musician best known for the NBC dramaThis Is Us,with his foray into the DC Universemarking the beginning of his movie voice acting career.
JB Blancplays Bane in multiple Lego Batman video games. His entries in the series includeLego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Lego Batman 3: Beyond GothamandLego DC Super-Villains.Blanc is a prolific voice actor appearing in a wide variety of cartoons, films, video games, and English dubs of anime, playing characters like Caustic in the video gameApex Legendsand The Hulk in 2008’sThe Incredible Hulk.He voiced Bane again in the video gameBatman: The Enemy Within.
Héctor Elizondovoices Bane in the DCAU projectBatman: Mystery of the Batwoman,taking over for Henry Silva. Elizondo also returned ot the role for the tie-in video gameBatman: Rise of Sin Tzu.Like Silva, Elizondo is a dedicated character actor appearing in background roles in movies likeBeverly Hills Cop IIIand lead roles in TV series likeChicago Hope.
Jason Liebrechtgives a vocal performance as Bane in the MMORPGDC Universe Online.Here, Bane runs a Venom operation out of a lair in a lighthouse, assisted by hordes of henchman. Liebrecht is another well-known voice actor best known for his work in English anime dubs, playing villainous characters like Dabi inMy Hero Academiaand Zeke inAttack on Titan.
Eric Lopezvoices Bane in the TV showDC Super Hero Girls. Previously, he had voiced the role in theYoung Justicetie-in video game,Young Justice: Legacy.Lopez also voices Blue Beetle in the TV series itself, as well as fellow insect-themed Latin character, Bumblebee Man, inThe Simpsons, making for an interesting comparison to hisDC Universerole.
