David Bateson (born 9 February 1960) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for providing the voice of Agent 47, the protagonist of IO Interactive's stealth video game series Hitman, having played the role since 2000 in each of the franchise's eight main games. He has also served as a voice for commercials advertising various Lego brands.[1]
David Bateson
| |
|---|---|
| Born | (1960-02-09) 9 February 1960 (age 64)
Durban, South Africa
|
| Citizenship | Denmark / United Kingdom |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Known for | Voice of Agent 47inHitman |
David Bateson was born on 9 February 1960, in Durban, South Africa, to English parents.[2] He entered the acting profession before returning to the UK in 1984. He later moved to Canada and now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is also a full member of British Equity and Danish Actors' Union.[3]
He landed his first role[citation needed] in the 1994 film Prince of Jutland as Hother. He also played the part of a young sailor in the 1996 film Breaking the Waves, along with the main role in the 2002 short film Debutanten.
In the Hitman game series, Bateson provided the voice of Agent 47 and in every entry in the series until the fifth game, Hitman: Absolution, when he stated to a member of a Hitman fan forum that "No one from IO Interactive is answering my calls, e-mails or SMS."[4] Bateson would later officially confirm on his personal website that he had been "unceremoniously dropped from the franchise", and added that he was unable to make further comments for "legal reasons".[5] Bateson did eventually return as the voice of Agent 47 in Hitman: Absolution.[6][7] On 16 June 2015, just one day after the announcement of Hitman (2016), Bateson confirmed that he would once again be voicing Agent 47 in the new title via Twitter.[8]
Bateson also voiced Virgil in the 2020 indie game Lightmatter, his first non-Hitman video game voice role.[9]
Bateson voiced the Nintendo video game character Bowser in the Danish dub of the 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie (dubbing Jack Black's voice role).[10][11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Prince of Jutland | Hother | |
| 1996 | Breaking the Waves | Young Sailor | |
| 2000 | Help! I'm a Fish | Commander Shark, General Crab[12] | Voice |
| 2002 | One Hell of a Christmas | Tommy | |
| 2003 | Stealing Rembrandt | Stor Mand | |
| 2008 | Sunshine Barry and the Disco Worms | Jimmy, Manager, Nature Speaker[12] | Voice |
| 2009 | Headhunter | Dr. Leipmann | |
| 2011 | Freddy Frogface | Bardini, Blacksmith, Carlo Androkles, Ole Antonioni[12] | Voice |
| 2012 | Ivan the Incredible | Butcher, Teacher, Grumpy Fisherman[12] | Voice |
| 2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Bowser[10][11] | Voice, Danish dub |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Hitman: Codename 47 | Agent 47[12] | |
| 2002 | Hitman 2: Silent Assassin | Agent 47, Agent 17 | |
| 2004 | Hitman: Contracts | Agent 47[12] | |
| 2006 | Hitman: Blood Money | ||
| 2012 | Hitman: Absolution | ||
| 2016 | Hitman | ||
| 2018 | Hitman 2 | ||
| 2020 | Lightmatter | Virgil[13] | |
| 2021 | Hitman 3 | Agent 47 |