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Classic 'Batman' Adam West Picks Ben Affleck As His Favorite Successor

Classic 'Batman' Adam West Reveals His Favorite 'Batman' Successor
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While millennials may recognize Adam West's voice as Quahog's mayor in "Family Guy," the actor's true place in history is as Batman, the role he pioneered for the iconic film and TV franchise.

West played Batman in the original TV series, which ran for three seasons from 1966 to 1968. He also played the title role in the 1966 film, "Batman." West stopped by HuffPost Live on Thursday to chat about his career since and the upcoming DVD release of "Batman: The Complete Series."

West told host Ricky Camilleri that he has appreciated all of his successors to the Batcave but, for the sake of support, said his favorite is Ben Affleck. Affleck is set to star in the upcoming "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

"You know, I've never really thought about that," West said. "Right now, to be encouraging, I'd have to say Ben Affleck. 'Gone Girl' is a wonderful picture and he directed 'Argo' was great. I'm curious to see what he does. So that would be my favorite."

The franchise was widely considered to have gone through a downturn in the '90s, resuscitated by the Christian Bale-led trilogy of recent years.

"[Bale]'s a wonderful actor," West said. "Let's face it: they're all very good in their own ways. To me, it's a nice thing to see the different interpretations."

Watch the rest of the clip above, and catch the full HuffPost Live conversation here.

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Before You Go

9
Lewis G. Wilson In "Batman"
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Wilson would go on to play the first live-action Batman set in a world where the U.S. had just joined WWII following the attack on Pearl Harbour. Rather than fight traditional villains like the The Joker or Two Face, Wilson's Batman faced against a Japanese spy named Dr Daka.

Wilson's performance wasn't highly praised by critics who took issue with the actor's physical appearance and Boston accent.
8
Robert Lowery in "Batman and Robin"
YouTube
The first live-action iteration of "Batman" was popular enough to warrant a sequel called "Batman and Robin" but Lewis G. Wilson's take on the Dark Knight wasn't. So Columbia Pictures brought on Robert Lowery.

Critics didn't have many issues with Lowery's performance but the show's low-budget look and feel ultimately left him as history's least memorable Batman.
7
Olan Soule in "The Adventures of Batman"
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Olan Soule first started out as a live theater actor before stints in radio and eventually television. He gained a reputation as a character voice actor and was soon tasked in bringing Batman to kids in the form of a cartoon.

While Soule's version of Batman was light on the cape and cowl of past iterations, he certainly nailed the campy part for future renditions.
6
George Clooney in "Batman & Robin"
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Let's get this out of the way: "Batman & Robin" will probably go down in history as one of one of history's worst renditions of Batman. Most of that blame falls on the shoulder of director Joel Schumacher but part of it is also on George Clooney for his light-hearted portrayal as the Dark Knight. He did nail the rich playboy aspect of Bruce Wayne though, so points for that.
5
Val Kilmer in "Batman Forever"
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"Batman Forever" may have been a departure from the dark undertones during Tim Burton's time directing Batman movies but Val Kilmer's portrayal as a Bruce Wayne had a surprising amount of anguish and mental torment as a boy who grew up watching his parents gunned down in front of his eyes.

His performance as Batman left a little more to be desired though. Between cheesy lines and that goofy smile (when does Batman ever smile?) Kilmer takes a backseat to some of the other actors on this list.
4
Adam West in "Batman"
YouTube
Depending on when you grew up, you knew Adam West as the strange Mayor West on "Family Guy" or as the guy who played the campiest Batman to date. While this sounds like a bad thing, Adam West embraced it and made it his own, standing out among the other Batmen who tried to be too serious or take a middle-of-the-road approach to the winged crusader.
3
Michael Keaton in "Batman", "Batman Returns"
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Aside from Christian Bale, Keaton is the only actor to star in back-to-back Batman movies. As the first Batman to hit the big screen, Keaton set the bar for future actors who'd don the cape and cowl striking the right balance behind the menacing and sombre Batman but the charming Bruce Wayne.
2
Christian Bale In "Batman Begins"
YouTube
After two Batman movies by Joel Schumacher, fans were beginning to forget the roots of the Dark Knight. Enter Christopher Nolan with Christian Bale who brought the franchise to where it began: an origin story that shows the progression of Bruce Wayne from an angry man seeking revenge to a symbol of justice and fear.

Sure, Bale's gravely Batman voice is still ripe for parody but his performance as someone training to become Batman is something none of the other actors on this list bring to the table.
1
Kevin Conroy in "Batman The Animated Series"
YouTube
While many will hail Christian Bale's performance as one of the best as Batman on the silver screen, no one has left a legacy like Kevin Conroy. The voice actor not only voiced Bruce Wayne and Batman for four seasons, he eventually went to become the voice of Batman for a generation of kids during the early '90s.

Since then, Conroy's gone on to reprise his role as the voice of Batman in various animated series like "Batman Beyond", "Justice League", various D.C. digital download movies and three video games from the "Batman: Arkham" franchise.
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