Reviewing “Midnight Mass” back in 2021, /Film’s Chris Evangelista praised Linklater’s “hypnotic” voice. In “Gen V,” Linklater again uses that voice to ensnare us, even though Cipher is much more repellant and odious than Father Paul ever was. It’s no surprise that Linklater, with his remarkable voice, has dipped his toes into voiceover acting, too.
Indeed, “Gen V” isn’t the first Prime Video superhero show he’s been a part of; Linklater also voiced Batman/Bruce Wayne in the first season of the cartoon series “Batman: Caped Crusader,” which takes place in the 1940s and plays up the noir side of Batman. Bruce Timm, co-creator of legendary ’90s cartoon “Batman: The Animated Series,” also developed “Caped Crusader” and uses a similar art style. That meant Linklater was doomed to be compared to late voice actor Kevin Conroy, the best Batman ever. But despite those comparisons, Linklater put in a strong performance, specifically as a younger Batman, who is more cold and aloof than normal.
The previous Linklater role that most resembles Cipher, though, is his supporting part in the 2024 drama “Nickel Boys.” Shot entirely in first-person perspective, “Nickel Boys” (adapted from a novel by Colson Whitehead) follows two young Black boys in the 1960s American South. Jim Crow may be dying, but racism is alive and well in the film’s setting. Linklater plays Spencer, headmaster of Nickel Academy, a racist “reform” school for African-American youths where they’re beaten, forced into boxing matches the faculty gambles on, and sometimes outright murdered.
Though he’s no super-villain, Spencer is a scarier character than Cipher since “Nickel Boys” pulls from real history. Cipher still fits into the same character archetype, though, being the evil head of a sinister school. Cipher’s first major scene in the “Gen V” season 2 premiere, “New Year, New U,” is when Cate (Maddie Phillips) comes to him to ask about her friend Andre’s (Chance Perdomo) death while incarcerated. (This was a consequence of Perdomo passing away between seasons.) Cipher couldn’t care less about Andre’s death (he failed at survival of the fittest), and when Cate presses Cipher for more info, he nearly shoves her hand into the blender where he’s making a smoothie lunch.
Much of Cipher’s character is currently shrouded in mystery, but “Gen V” couldn’t have picked a better actor than Hamish Linklater to play its soulless new villain (no backhanded compliment intended). And while Cipher probably won’t make it out of “Gen V” alive, “Caped Crusader” has been renewed for a second season. I can’t wait to hear more of what Linklater does as Batman; he’s an actor with the range to play both a superhero and super-villain.
“Gen V” is streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes of season 2 out on Wednesdays.
