Harley Quinn's popularity has grown by leaps and bounds since the character was first introduced. Having Margot Robbie play the character in live action for DC Entertainment Universe's Suicide Squad seems only to have elevated the character to mainstream popularity! Add to that Kaley Cuoco's version and Harley Quinn might as well be a household name. However, the only character that might disagree with this statement has eighty years of history to back him up. We are, of course, speaking about Batman! Earlier this week, DC Universe spoke with Diedrich Bader on his return to voicing Batman and what working on Harley's show is like:
DCU: It’s amazing that in 'Harley Quinn' you’re playing a character you once played in a show for all ages. Yet your performance still works in a show very much aimed at adults.
Bader: At big kids! [Laughs.] Yeah, just everything about it is different, and that’s what’s cool about it. It’s kind of a reimagining of the whole world. I think it’s a really good opportunity for comedy. What are these people’s lives really like? Wait until you see. The stuff with me and Christopher Meloni [who voices Commissioner Gordon]...
DCU: Did you guys improv your dialogue?
Bader: Yeah, we were brought in together a lot, which was really fun. The sessions are incredibly fun. For the pilot, I even worked with Alan Tudyk, who plays the Joker. That was mostly what we recorded together. But for the rest of them, it was mostly me and Chris. He’s really great. He’s a great improviser, and he’s really fun to work with. I think we went into some really interesting areas. Yeah, the idea [behind this show] is sort of about blowing up the DC Universe in a weird way.
DCU 'Harley Quinn' really features a murderers' row of voice talent. How's it achieved this pedigree?
Bader It’s the opportunity to play these characters, and then on top of that, they schedule around you. When I was recording in the fall, I had 'American Housewife,' 'Veep,' and 'Better Things' all shooting at the same time. And then, to do this as well, the schedule was tight, but they made it work. As they do for Alan, who’s a genuine movie star, and really super busy. It gets complicated, but that’s the beauty of animation, that you can squeeze it in. I could go during lunch, for example. Seriously. I went during lunch, recorded, and went back to 'Housewife.' So one of the glories of animation is that you can do it during the time that you’d normally be taking a nap. [Laughs.]
DCU: What can you say about the direction the relationship between Batman and Harley takes throughout the first season of 'Harley Quinn'?
Bader: They do have an arc that I’m not supposed to get too into. Suffice it to say that Batman feels she’s capable of redemption, and sees her making the same mistakes over and over again. She has a girlfriend, but if she has a psychiatrist, it’s Batman. That’s pretty much all I can tease.
For more on Bader's Batman on Harley Quinn visit the DC Universe. Let us know what you think in the comments below and in the forum!
