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Loren Lester (born October 4, 1960, in Los Angeles, California)1 is an American actor of stage, screen, and voice who has accumulated nearly five decades of credits across television, film, animation, and theatre. He is best known as the definitive voice of Dick Grayson, Robin, and Nightwing in the DC Animated Universe, and he guest voiced on Extreme Ghostbusters in 1997.
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Lester grew up in Los Angeles and began his acting career as a teenager in the late 1970s. He attended and graduated from Occidental College's theatre department in Los Angeles, where he received his formal stage training.1
Among his earliest recognizable roles was an appearance as the villainous hall monitor Fritz Hansel in the 1979 comedy film Rock 'N' Roll High School.1 He went on to play the recurring character Roy for five seasons on the long-running NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, establishing himself as a reliable presence in television.2
Lester is most closely identified with the role of Dick Grayson, Robin, and Nightwing in the DC Animated Universe. Beginning in 1992 with the premiere of Batman: The Animated Series, he voiced the character across 27 episodes of that series1 and continued through the revamped follow-up, The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999).1 Lester holds the distinction of being the first actor to ever voice Nightwing in an animated production.2 He reprised the Nightwing role in the 2017 animated feature Batman and Harley Quinn.3
His other prominent animated work includes the voice of Barbecue in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and Rick Gordon, the son of Flash Gordon, in the 1986 Filmation series Defenders of the Earth.1 In Marvel animation, he was the first actor to voice Iron Fist, bringing the character to life in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.2 He subsequently reprised Iron Fist in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.1
Additional animation credits include Batman: The Brave and the Bold and, in the video game space, the role of Man-Bat in Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) and voice work in Halo 4 (2012).1
Alongside his animation career, Lester accumulated a substantial live-action portfolio. He has appeared in over 200 television productions,2 including recurring roles across multiple seasons of several series. Notable among these was a recurring part throughout all three seasons of the HBO comedy-drama series Hung1 and appearances in The Orville, Curb Your Enthusiasm, I'm Dying Up Here, Parenthood, Bones, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Gilmore Girls, Cold Case, Castle, Two and a Half Men, and Las Vegas.
On film, his credits include Red Eye (2005), directed by Wes Craven, and The Sweetest Thing (2002).1
Lester has maintained an active stage career alongside his screen work. He made his Broadway debut in 2024 in the acclaimed revival of Cabaret, bringing his career full circle from his college theatre training to one of New York's most prestigious stages.2
Lester guest voiced on Extreme Ghostbusters in the episode "The True Face of a Monster," which aired on September 3, 1997 (Production #107, Episode 3). The episode was written by Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg and directed by Rafael Rosado.4 In it, a rabbinical student draws on mysticism to animate a Golem to protect a Jewish temple from vandals, only for the creature to grow beyond control. The Extreme Ghostbusters must find a way to stop the Golem before it causes further harm. The specific character Lester voiced is not confirmed in available production credits.4
Lester has been married to actress Kelly Lester, daughter of actor Peter Mark Richman, since 1988.1 The couple have three daughters, all of whom have pursued acting: Jenny, Lily, and Julia Lester, the last of whom received a Tony Award nomination for the Broadway revival of Into the Woods.5 The family is based in New York City.2
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
"Loren Lester," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Lester. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11
Loren Lester, official biography, lorenlester.com, accessed 2026-06-13, http://www.lorenlester.com/about/. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
"Batman and Harley Quinn (2017)," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6556890/. ↩
Spook Central, "Extreme Ghostbusters: The True Face of a Monster" (episode guide), accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.spookcentral.us/sclib/extreme-ghostbusters-the-true-face-of-a-monster. ↩ ↩2
"Julia Lester," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Lester. ↩