Martin Jarvis

Martin Jarvis OBE is an English actor and voice artist born in Cheltenham, best known for voicing Alfred Pennyworth across the Batman: Arkham series (2011–2024), The Chronicler in the Legend of Spyro games, and Admiral Zaal'Koris in Mass Effect 2 and 3. A RADA-trained veteran with decades of BBC television, radio drama, and audiobook credits including the beloved Just William and P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves series Jarvis received the BBC Audio Drama Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Jarvis became a familiar face on British television through landmark BBC productions — playing Jon in The Forsyte Saga (1967), the title role in Nicholas Nickleby (1968), and Uriah Heep in David Copperfield (1974). He was also the male lead in the sitcom Rings on Their Fingers (1978–80). In film, he appeared in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph (2012) as Saitine, one of the video game villains.

Radio & Audiobooks

Jarvis is particularly celebrated for his audio work. He is best known for his long-running series of readings of Richmal Crompton’s Just William stories, showcasing his flexible character voices. He has also played Jeeves in multiple BBC radio adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse’s stories, including Ring for Jeeves (2014) and Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (2018), as well as performing live in Jeeves Live! (2007–2020). In 2023, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Audio Drama Awards.

Video Game Roles

Jarvis built an impressive video game résumé, with some standout roles:

Alfred Pennyworth — Batman: Arkham City (2011), Arkham Origins (2013), Arkham Knight (2015), and Batman: Arkham Shadow (2024)
The Chronicler — The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night (2007) and Dawn of the Dragon (2008)
Admiral Zaal’Koris vas Qwib Qwib — Mass Effect 2 (2010) and Mass Effect 3 (2012)
Finn McMissile — Cars 2: The Video Game (2011) and related Disney titles
Gandalf — The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (2009)
Various roles in Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011)

Animation

Beyond games, Jarvis voiced the recurring character Nergal in The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, inheriting the role from David Warner. He also voiced all characters in the children’s stop-motion series Huxley Pig and narrated “The Tempest” in Shakespeare: The Animated Tales.