David Bateson (born 9 February 1960) is a South African-born British 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.
Early life David Bateson was born in Durban 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 [him] a little confused as to [his] identity 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, along with the main role in the 2002 short film Debutanten. He also acted alongside Mads Mikkelsen in the 1999 short film Tom Merritt, and would again act with Mikkelsen in a 2025 update for Hitman: World of Assassination.
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. Bateson landed the role after doing voiceover for another project in the same building that housed IO Interactive's studio for Hitman: Codename 47. 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 for Hitman: Absolution, Bateson revealed that IO Interactive were ignoring his efforts to contact themBeefjack.com 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. Despite the major setback, Bateson said in June 2025 that Absolution is his favorite game in the Hitman series. 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 in the Danish dub of the 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, dubbing Jack Black's voice. He has also worked extensively in Danish television series and narrated various Lego 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, holds Danish citizenship, and speaks fluent Danish. He is a member of both the British and Danish actors' unions.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1994 Prince of Jutland Hother 1996 Breaking the Waves Young Sailor 1999 Tom Merritt Tom Merritt Short film2000 Help! I'm a Fish Commander Shark, General CrabVoice2002 One Hell of a Christmas Tommy 2003 Stealing Rembrandt Stor Mand 2008 Sunshine Barry and the Disco Worms Jimmy, Manager, Nature SpeakerVoice2009 Headhunter Dr. Leipmann 2011 Freddy Frogface Bardini, Blacksmith, Carlo Androkles, Ole Antonioni Voice2012 Ivan the Incredible Butcher, Teacher, Grumpy FishermanVoice2023 The Super Mario Bros. Movie BowserVoice, Danish dub
Video games Year Title Role Notes2000 Hitman: Codename 47 Agent 47 2002 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Agent 47, Agent 17 2004 Hitman: Contracts Agent 47 2006 Hitman: Blood Money 2012 Hitman: Absolution 2016 Hitman 2018 Hitman 2 2020 Lightmatter Virgil 2021Hitman 3Agent 47
Television 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 (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) – Agent 47 (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
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