David Bateson (born 9 February 1960) is an English actor who holds both British and Danish citizenship. He is best known for providing the voice of

Agent 47 Agent 47 is a fictional character (arts), character and the player character of the Hitman (franchise), ''Hitman'' stealth game franchise created and developed by IO Interactive. He has been featured in all games of the series, as well as vario ...

, the protagonist of

IO Interactive IO Interactive A/S (IOI) is a Danish video game developer and publisher based in Copenhagen, best known for creating and developing the ''Hitman'' and '' Kane and Lynch'' franchises. IO Interactive's most recent game is '' Hitman 3'', which was ...

stealth game A stealth game is a type of video game in which the player primarily uses ''stealth'' to avoid or overcome opponents. Games in the video game genre, genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, sneaking, or using disguises. S ...

series ''

Hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

'', having played the role since 2000 in each of the franchise's eight main games.

Early life

David Bateson was born in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

on 9 February 1960 to his English parents. He has said that the family moved between South Africa and England at least 13 times and that he attended nine schools overall, which "made ima little confused as to isidentity for a while".

Career

Bateson landed his first role when he played Hother in the 1994 film '' Prince of Jutland''. He also played the part of a young sailor in the 1996 film ''

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological romantic melodrama film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson in her feature film acting debut, and with Stellan Skarsgård, a frequent collaborator with von Trier. ...

'', along with the main role in the 2002 short film ''Debutanten''. Bateson's most notable role is that of

, the protagonist of

series ''

''. He has provided the

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

and

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

for the character in every entry in the series since 2000. Despite bearing an uncanny resemblance, he has refuted the popular belief that Agent 47's physical appearance was based on him, dismissing it as a coincidence. Addressing fan backlash following the revelation that he had been replaced without warning by American actor

William Mapother William Reibert Mapother Jr. (; born April 17, 1965) is an American actor, known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'' and starring in the film ''In the Bedroom''. He is also known for the film ''Anothe ...

for '' Hitman: Absolution'', Bateson revealed that IO Interactive were ignoring his efforts to contact them and later confirmed on his website that he had been "unceremoniously dropped from the franchise" but was unable to comment further for "legal reasons". He was rehired for the voice role before the game's release, though Mapother's motion capture work remained intact. Mapother returned for the subsequent game to voice Dino Bosco, an arrogant Italian actor Agent 47 must kill. Bateson voiced Virgil in the 2020 indie game ''Lightmatter'', his first non-''Hitman'' video game voice role. He voiced

Bowser , also known as King Bowser or King Koopa, is a Character (arts), fictional character and the Antagonist, main antagonist of Nintendo's ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise."The Top 100 Videogame Villains". IGN. Retrieved October 8, 2010. ...

in the Danish dub of the 2023 film '' The Super Mario Bros. Movie'', dubbing

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

's voice. He has also worked extensively in Danish television series and narrated various

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

commercials.

Personal life

Bateson previously lived in Canada, England, and South Africa; he is now a long-time resident of Denmark, where he is based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, holds Danish citizenship, and speaks fluent Danish. He is a member of both the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and Danish actors' unions.

Filmography

Film

Video games

*''Den Enes Død'' (1994) *''Carl Th. Dreyer: My Métier'' (1995) (documentary) *''Kun en Pige'' (1995) – Korrespondent *''Krystalbarnet'' (1996) *''Spoon River'' (1996) *''Another You'' (1997) *''Midnight Angels'' (1998) *''Daddyfox'' (2000) – Court Police Officer 2 *''Debutanten'' (2002) (short) – Bill *'' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (2001 – 2003) – Irer *''A Royal Family'' (TV, 2003) – Narrator (English version) *''The Core'' (2005) (documentary) – Niels Bohr *''Hero of God'' (2006) *'' Anna Pihl'' (TV, 1 episode, 2008) – Mr.Reed *''

Klovn ''Klovn'' ("Clown") is a Danish sitcom, which first aired on the Danish TV channel TV2 Zulu. It focuses on the life of the main character Frank (played by Frank Hvam) and Casper (played by Casper Christensen). The show builds its comedy around ...

'' (TV, 1 episode, 2008) – Dave *''Disco Ormene'' (2008) – Voice *''Maj & Charlie'' (TV, 1 episode, 2008) – Fitness Chef *''Aurum'' (2008) – Mark Boland *'' Livvagterne'' (TV, 5 episodes, 2010) – Shane *''The Dark Side of Chocolate'' (2010) (documentary) – Narrator *'' Borgen'' (TV, 2 episodes, 2010 – 2011) – Additional voices *''The Micro Debt'' (2011) (documentary) – Narrator *''The Life and Death of Thomas Simeon'' (2011) – Narrator (voice) *''A Tribute to J. J. Abrams'' (2013) (short) – Voice of Bouncer *''Taming the Quantum World'' (2013) (documentary) – Narrator *''Aftenshowet'' (TV, 2 episodes, 2013 – 2014) – Himself *''Exodus: Humanity Has A Price'' (2014) – Commander *''Monte Carlo Elsker USA'' (2014) – Speaker *''Upstart'' (2014) *''Huldra: Lady of the Forest'' (2016) – Mike *''Digital Romance'' (2016) (short) – Kane *''Bitter Grapes'' (2016) (documentary) – Narrator *''Ø'' (TV, 5 episodes, 2016) – Tommy *''Real Life Hitman'' (2016) (short) –

(voice) *''Level up Norge'' (TV, 1 episode, 2017) – Agent 47 (voice) *''The Messenger'' (short, 2018) – Narrator / Boss *'' Below the Surface'' (TV, 1 episode, 2019) – British newsreader (voice) *''Breeder'' (2020) – Speaker *''Kamikaze'' (TV, 1 episode, 2021) – Bengt *''A Taste of Hunger'' (2021) – Michelin Announcer *''The Orchestra'' (TV, 3 episodes, 2022) – Mablewood *''The Exigency II: Course of Action'' (TBA) – Hideout Guard (voice) *''The Somerdahl Murders'' (TV, 2 episodes, 2023) – Eric Windfeldt

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bateson, David 1960 births Living people English expatriates in Denmark English male voice actors English male comedians English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male video game actors English television presenters Male actors from Durban South African people of British descent University of Natal alumni South African male actors