10 Actors Who Appeared In Star Trek AND Batman: The Animated Series

8. Michael Ansara - Mr. Freeze

Batman: The Animated Series was transformative for Mr. Freeze. He had been a somewhat hokey, gimmicky villain, using his freeze-ray to commit petty crimes. He could be easily defeated if, as Adam West's Batman did in the '60s show, one simply remembered to wear their bat-thermal underwear.

When Michael Ansara, who played Kang in The Original Series, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, took on the role of the icicle-themed foe, Mr. Freeze went from a silly background character to the most tragic villain in Batman's gallery of enemies.

Gone were the ice-puns (Batman & Robin had yet to release), and here was a man trying desperately to save his wife from a terminal illness. Freezing her seemed the only way to save her, and with this change in character, writer Paul Dini delivered a version of the villain who was both sympathetic and deadly.

Ansara's performance lends that cold, impassive quality of Kang to the cold, controlled Victor Fries. Heart Of Ice won a Daytime Emmy for its writing.