The DCU seems to be creating a new version of the famous Batman villain Bane, adding to an already expansive list of performers to portray the Venom-indulgent bruiser. The upcoming Bane and Deathstroke team-up movie has been confirmed by the DCU, giving credence to the rumors of solo Batman villain movies that 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, becoming one of the few villains to “break” The Dark Knight both mentally and physically. Various aspects of Bane have been represented by his different depictions in Batman movies and TV shows.
8 Jeep Swenson
Batman & Robin
Despite the infamy of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever sequel as one of the worst Batman movies ever, only one member of Batman & Robin‘s cast is 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.
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 after Batman & Robin‘s release when he sadly passed away due to steroid-related heart complications.
7 Tom Hardy
The Dark Knight Rises
Long after Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan put forth his own take on Bane to end The Dark Knight trilogy with the film The 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. He’s also no stranger to blockbusters in general, playing Max in Mad Max: Fury Road and other Christopher Nolan films like Inception and Dunkirk. 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.
6 Shane West
Gotham
Like most Batman villains, Gotham put forth its own unique take on Bane, played by Shane West. In the fifth and final season, arguably the 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 dramas besides Gotham. He’s most recognizable for his roles as Dr. Ray Barnett in ER and Eli Sammler in ABC’s Once 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’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
5 James 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 comedy Harley Quinn and 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 from Batman & Robin paired with a parody version of Bane’s voice in The Dark Knight Rises.
James Adomian is more of a comedian than an actor, best known for his work on projects like Chapo House, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. A talented impressionist known for satirizing political figures like George Bush and Bernie Sanders in 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 series Teen Titans Go!
4 Henry Silva
The DC Animated Universe
Considering the entire DC Animated Universe largely owes its existence to Batman: 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 in the DCAU timeline, played by Henry Silva, who gives 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 of Batman: 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 like The Manchurian Candidate or the original Ocean’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.
3 Fred 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 performance to flavor his vocal texture with a similar Latin accent. Tatasciore plays Bane in Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham series, Lego Batman: The Video Game, and Injustice: 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 in Overwatch and Damon Baird in the Gears of War series. 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 mention Looney Tunes favorites like Yosemite Sam and Taz the Tasmanian Devil.
2 Danny Trejo
Young Justice
Though he didn’t appear in many episodes, one would be remiss not to mention Danny Trejo’s brief run as Bane in the TV series Young 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 interpretations of Bane ever, this version is a known associate of the terrifying villain group The Light.
Danny Trejo needs little introduction as the star of the Machete movies, playing the titular blade-wielding killer with cold ferocity. Trejo’s other greatest hits include From Dusk Till Dawn and Desperado. Curiously, Danny Trejo reprized the role of Machete, reworked into a kindly uncle and brilliant inventor, in the Spy Kids film series, also directed by Machete‘s Robert Rodriguez.
1 Every Other Bane Voice Actor
Bane has had a number of other versions in various media
Carlos Alazraqui voices Bane in the animated 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 in The Fairly Oddparents, and Rocko the Wallaby from Rocko’s Modern Life. Alazraqui has returned to the role in various movies, including Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, and Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Steve Blum plays Bane in Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite. Not to be confused with The Lego Batman Movie, this 2013 direct-to-video film was actually an adaptation of Lego Batman: The Video Game. Blum is an American voice actor known for his distinctive deep timbre, famous for characters like Spike Spiegel from the anime Cowboy Bebop, Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat video game series, or Starscream as he appears in Transformers: Prime.
Eric Bauza voices Bane in Lego 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 various Looney Tunes projects, 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 from Ren and Stimpy or even Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies.
Doug Benson plays Bane in The Lego Batman Movie opposite 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 like Doug Loves Movies, The Benson Interruption, and Getting Doug with High. Most notably, he stars as the subject of the pseudo-documentary Super High Me, a cannabis-focused take on Morgan Spurlock’s famous documentary Supersize Me.
Kenta Miyake gives an interesting take on Bane in the unique animated film Batman 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 in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and fellow musclebound grappler Zangief in the Street Fighter series.
Adam Gifford voices Bane in the movie Batman: 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 Sullivan plays 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 drama This Is Us, with his foray into the DC Universe marking the beginning of his movie voice acting career.
JB Blanc plays Bane in multiple Lego Batman video games. His entries in the series include Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and Lego 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 game Apex Legends and The Hulk in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. He voiced Bane again in the video game Batman: The Enemy Within.
Héctor Elizondo voices Bane in the DCAU project Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, taking over for Henry Silva. Elizondo also returned ot the role for the tie-in video game Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu. Like Silva, Elizondo is a dedicated character actor appearing in background roles in movies like Beverly Hills Cop III and lead roles in TV series like Chicago Hope.
Jason Liebrecht gives a vocal performance as Bane in the MMORPG DC 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 in My Hero Academia and Zeke in Attack on Titan.
Eric Lopez voices Bane in the TV show DC Super Hero Girls. Previously, he had voiced the role in the Young Justice tie-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, in The Simpsons, making for an interesting comparison to his DC Universe role.