The Deeply Personal Reason Kevin Conroy Felt Connected To Batman

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter celebrating the 25th anniversary of the animated movie, "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm," Conroy sat down and confessed that it was his favorite film in the Dark Knight's big screen history. He talks about a scene in the movie that was his favorite, bringing up deep emotions.

The film follows Batman pursuing a character resembling the grim reaper who is killing some of Gotham's worst criminals. In true Batman style, the Gotham Police believe Batman to be the culprit and chase after him. While this is happening, Wayne's old flame, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), returns to Gotham. Audiences are treated to a flashback of Bruce Wayne pleading with his parents' graves to release him from the path that he initially took to honor them. He wants a normal life with her. Obviously, that didn't happen as Batman spends his entire life as the Dark Knight, but the scene brought up some raw, unprocessed emotions for the actor.

"When Bruce is pleading with his parents, something came up in me," Conroy confessed. "I had a very problematic relationship with my father. He was a terrible drunk, and I ended up leaving home at 17." He continues, "There were a lot of unresolved emotions there, and something in that graveyard scene brought all that stuff up," the actor reveals. "I don't know why; as an actor, you never know why a certain chord is hit. The key to being an actor is to be open enough to let any chord be hit."