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Every superhero needs a sidekick. More importantly, every superhero needs a support staff. Crimefighting is a messy gig, and who wants to do a load of laundry after crawling back to HQ all bruised from a nightly patrol? No wonder Spider-Man’s so miserable–he flies solo! But not Batman. Since almost the very beginning, Batman’s had the help of his trusty butler, Alfred Pennyworth. With Alfred mending his tights and shining his big penny, Batman can focus on stopping all of the super villains in Gotham.
Alfred’s also been part of Batman media since he debuted. He first appeared in the comics in May 1943 and made his big screen debut just two months later in the first-ever black and white Batman serial, where he was played by William Austin. In a sign of things to come, a new actor–Eric Wilton–played Alfred in the 1949 Batman and Robin serial, and that would be just the first of many actor changes for pop culture’s most prominent butler.
A lot of actors have played Alfred in dozens of TV series and movies over the past 75 years. For example, four different actors will have played Alfred in 2019 alone before the year is over (Ralph Fiennes, Sean Pertwee, Jack Bannon, and Douglas Hodge)! With Bannon having just made his debut as the star of EPIX’s Batman prequel drama Pennyworth, we think it’s the right time to look back at all of the actors that have brought the butler to life on TV and film. Mind you, this isn’t including the many actors that have voiced Alfred in animated projects, the most notable being Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who voiced Alfred in the Batman and DC cartoons for almost all of the ’90s, and Ralph Fiennes, who voiced Alfred in The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part.
As for live-action Alfreds, here’s your guide to all the men that have helped shape all of the Batmen, from 1966 to today.
Alan Napier
- Batman (120 episodes, 1966-1968)
- Batman (1966)
No shade to Austin and Wilton, the Alfreds of the ’40s, but Alan Napier’s take on Batman’s butler was the first one to really make a mark on pop culture. The Batman series was a sensation, a foundational part of the swingin’ psychedelic movement that captivated kids and teens across the country. Napier was a hard-working character actor prior to his gig dusting the Bat-computer, having appeared in seemingly hundreds of movies from the ’30s to the ’60s. His Alfred was dignified but a bit nurturing, and nowhere near as intimidating as others on this list.
Michael Gough
- Batman (1989)
- Batman Returns (1992)
- Batman Forever (1995)
- Batman & Robin (1997)
No other live-action Alfred held down the role for as long as Michael Gough, who acted alongside Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney’s Batmen in the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher films. Gough brought a new warmth and familiarity to the role, like when he embarrassed Master Bruce by telling Vicki Vale all about his embarrassing childhood mishaps. His biggest part in the films came in Batman & Robin, when he was faced with a life-threatening illness–and it was revealed that he designed a super sexy latex Bat-costume for his niece Barbara.
Where to stream Batman Returns
Ian Abercrombie
- Birds of Prey (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
A decade before the CW became the home of all things DC, the network’s predecessor the WB tried to get into the superhero game with Birds of Prey. The series starred Huntress, former Batgirl Barbara Gordon, and Black Canary, and it worked Alfred in as a supporting player. This Alfred tended to the team’s needs while also secretly checking in with Batman (always offscreen). Aside from his brief tenure as Alfred, Abercrombie is most known for playing Elaine’s boss Mr. Pitt on Seinfeld. After Birds of Prey, he found new sci-fi cred by voicing Palpatine (a.k.a. the Emperor) on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Michael Caine
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Director Christopher Nolan’s gritty and grounded take on the Batman mythology demanded an Alfred with gravitas, one that could command respect from Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne. The legendary Michael Caine was really the only choice, and he played Batman’s confidant in the Dark Knight trilogy. This Alfred had a bigger part to play than any before, acting as loner Bruce Wayne’s sole consistent voice of reason. He even got to give one of the most memorable speeches in Batman history, and probably in film history.
Sean Pertwee
- Gotham (100 episodes, 2014-2019)
As a prequel to the Bat-stories we all know, Fox’s Gotham got the chance to reinvent Alfred as slightly younger and definitely tougher. Sean Pertwee played a rougher version of the butler, one who was previously an operative in the Special Air Service. This Alfred did more than just take care of tween Bruce Wayne. He also showed him how to fight and readied him for his eventual war on crime.
Jeremy Irons
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Justice League (2017)
Jeremy Irons, the original voice of Scar in The Lion King and an Oscar winner for Reversal of Fortune, stepped into the role for Zack Snyder’s relaunch of Batman as part of the shared DC movie-verse. Like Pertwee and Caine’s versions before him, Irons’ Alfred was similarly down-to-Earth and not as butler-y as the Alfreds of the previous decades. This version of Alfred also acted as Bruce Wayne’s chief of security and helped the Dark Knight develop his crimefighting gadgets. Irons reprised the role in Justice League, but his future as the big screen’s Alfred isn’t clear. It’s already been announced that Douglas Hodge is playing a new take on Alfred in Todd Phillips’ Joker later this year.
Jack Bannon
- Pennyworth (10 episodes, 2019)
It’s been a brief 94 days since Sean Pertwee’s time as Alfred ended and there’s already a new TV version of the character, and this time he’s the star. Jack Bannon stars as Alfred Pennyworth in the EPIX drama Pennyworth, making him the youngest actor to play the character. Once again an ex-Special Air Service operative, this take on the character repositions him as more of a peer to Bruce’s dad Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge) as the two go about forming a security company in–and this makes the list feel very full circle–the swingin’ ’60s.
New episodes of Pennyworth air on EPIX on Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET.
