BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — It would be a major understatement to say Michael Benyaer took an extremely unorthodox approach to creating the voice of Ra’s Al Ghul for the new Prime Video animated series “Bat-Fam.”
For those not fluent in the DC Comics universe, Ra’s Al Ghul is a super villain who is the leader of the League of Assassins.
Benyaer decided the character should speak like “a Middle Eastern vampire.”
“I kept thinking Omar Sharif, if he was a villain. I wanted the accent to be Middle Eastern but also with kind of a British education sound,” Benyaer says. “He’s kind of been around for probably centuries, and he’s kind of educated in some way. This guy has lived multiple lifetimes and gone through different centuries. You have to create a voice that would be kind of ageless.”
Benyaer’s voice work decision for Ra’s Al Ghul can be heard when the new animated series from DC and Warner Bros. Animation debuts on the streaming service on Nov. 10. The half-hour Prime Video action-comedy is a follow-up to the animated holiday film, “Merry Little Batman” that was released in 2023.
“Bat-Fam” follows Batman (Luke Wilson), Alfred (James Cromwell), and young Damian Wayne (Yonas Kibreab) – who has now having taken on the mantle of “Little Batman” – as they welcome a few new residents to Wayne Manor.
Joining the family dinner table are: Alicia Pennyworth (London Hughes), Alfred’s free-spirited grandniece; Claire (Haley TJU), a recently reformed Super-Villain; and Man-Bat (Bobby Moynihan), who takes up residence in the Wayne Manor belfry. Ra’s Al Ghul is a spirited residence who pops up to cause mischief.
The Canadian actor is best known for his roles as Bob in the Canadian animated series “ReBoot” and as Hadji Singh in the first season of “The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.” He banked on his long list of credits both onscreen and as a voice actor to help him formulate how to speak for Ra’s Al Ghul. He has appeared in “Underworld,” “Deadpool,” “Tracker” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.” Benyaer also has a long list of voice credits in video games.
Because the animated series features enough comedy to fill the Batcave, Benyaer gets to show off his ability to be funny. He is happy because it is a a rare opportunity for viewers to see his comical side.
“A lot of the stuff I’ve done has been dramatic. It’s interesting because you’re only seeing what makes it to air. I did a couple of sitcom pilots that didn’t go,” Benyaer says. “I do seem to have that kind of villainous face, as it were, even if I’m doing a comedy.”
He points out not all his work has been bad guys as he was the voice for Ken in the 1987 television short “Barbie and the Rockers: Out of This World” and was the voice of a hero in “G.I. Joe: Rose of Cobra.” The best part of his career is that Benyaer loves all kinds of acting and embraces the diversity he has found.
Benyaer first became familiar with Ra’s Al Ghul years ago when one of his best friends told him 15 years ago he would be perfect to play the character. When he saw that Liam Neeson was playing the character in the 2005 live-action movie “Batman Begins,” Benyaer became convinced he would never get to take on the role. The comedy he showed during auditions gave him an edge as the creative team behind “Bat-Fam” opted for Ra’s Al Ghul to have a light side.
Not getting to play Ra’s Al Ghul in a live-action film or television series didn’t end up being a completely bad thing. Once Benyear saw the original designs of the series, he knew that he was going to be part of something very different.
“When I got the material, I completely understood what it,” Benyaer says. “My instincts and my intuition were correct. I do like to be in comedy more than dramatic pieces as it were, but you know you got to go what where they’ll have you. This is a totally different take on Batman. Even the animation is different. That’s why people who think they know what it’s going to be should watch and be pleasantly surprised. And they will have laughs and action, and it’s got a family vibe to it, too.”
The series was developed by executive producer and showrunner Mike Roth and executive producer Jase Ricci. Roth is a long-time writer and producer of animated programming include such productions as “Regular Show,” “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack” and “Camp Lazlo!”
“Bat-Fam” also will stream on Amazon Kids+, Amazon’s digital subscription for kids.
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