David Bateson | |
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Born | Durban, South Africa | 9 February 1960
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1994–present |
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, the protagonist of IO Interactive's stealth game series Hitman , having played the role since 2000 in each of the franchise's eight main games.
David Bateson was born in Durban on 9 February 1960 to his English parents. [1] 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 [him] a little confused as to [his] identity for a while". [1]
Bateson landed his first role when he played Hother in the 1994 film Prince of Jutland .[ citation needed ] 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.
Bateson's most notable role is that of Agent 47, the protagonist of IO Interactive's stealth game series Hitman . He has provided the voice and motion capture for the character in every entry in the series since 2000. [2] 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. [3] Addressing fan backlash following the revelation that he had been replaced without warning by American actor William Mapother for Hitman: Absolution , Bateson revealed that IO Interactive were ignoring his efforts to contact them [4] and later confirmed on his website that he had been "unceremoniously dropped from the franchise" but was unable to comment further for "legal reasons". [5] He was rehired for the voice role before the game's release, though Mapother's motion capture work remained intact. [6] [7] Despite the major setback, Bateson said in June 2025 that Absolution is his favorite game in the Hitman series. [8] 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. [9] He voiced Bowser in the Danish dub of the 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie , dubbing Jack Black's voice. [10] [11] He has also worked extensively in Danish television series and narrated various Lego commercials.
Bateson previously lived in Canada,[ citation needed ] England, and South Africa; he is now a long-time resident of Denmark, where he is based in Copenhagen, holds Danish citizenship, and speaks fluent Danish. [10] [11] He is a member of both the British and Danish actors' unions. [12]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1994 | Prince of Jutland | Hother | |
1996 | Breaking the Waves | Young Sailor | |
1999 | Tom Merritt | Tom Merritt | Short flim |
2000 | Help! I'm a Fish | Commander Shark, General Crab [13] | Voice |
2002 | One Hell of a Christmas | Tommy | |
2003 | Stealing Rembrandt | Stor Mand | |
2008 | Sunshine Barry and the Disco Worms | Jimmy, Manager, Nature Speaker [13] | Voice |
2009 | Headhunter | Dr. Leipmann | |
2011 | Freddy Frogface | Bardini, Blacksmith, Carlo Androkles, Ole Antonioni [13] | Voice |
2012 | Ivan the Incredible | Butcher, Teacher, Grumpy Fisherman [13] | Voice |
2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Bowser [10] [11] | Voice, Danish dub |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Hitman: Codename 47 | Agent 47 [13] | |
2002 | Hitman 2: Silent Assassin | Agent 47, Agent 17 | |
2004 | Hitman: Contracts | Agent 47 [13] | |
2006 | Hitman: Blood Money | ||
2012 | Hitman: Absolution | ||
2016 | Hitman | ||
2018 | Hitman 2 | ||
2020 | Lightmatter | Virgil [14] | |
2021 | Hitman 3 | Agent 47 |