Robert Pattinsonhas revealed the surprising inspiration behind his voice (technically voices) in the upcoming sci-fi black comedyMickey 17.The LighthouseandThe Boy and the Heronstar has shifted his image away from sparkly vampires and onto something else entirely…being a brilliant actor with a penchant for changing his voice. Footage fromMickey 17has already teased the type of wacky vocals we’re going to get when the movie lands in theaters in January and now, speaking withEmpire, Pattinson has revealed the beloved ’90s Nickelodeon series that inspired his performance(s).
If you haven’t already guessed, Pattinson willplay dual rolesinMickey 17,and he needed a way to differentiate the two identical characters. The actor revealed that his first instinct was to turn toJackassduo Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville, but this was quickly vetoed by director Bong Joon-ho.
“My initial idea was to do impressions of Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville [from ‘Jackass‘]. I love Steve-O’s voice. We did it on the first read-through. And Bong was like, ‘That voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard.’ I was like, ‘Is that a good thing?’ He was like, ‘No.’”
In Desperation, Robert Pattinson Turned to a Certain Cat & Dog Duo
Thankfully, Pattinson had another iconic pair tucked away somewhere in his talented brain, and usedRen & Stimpyfor the voices of Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. Yes, the chihuahua dog and Manx cat duo fromthe cult-favorite animated show.
“It’s a little like Stimpy. When 18 comes in, it’s a little bit more like Ren.” With every new reprinted Mickey, Pattinson imagines the character as losing a little something. “I just had this idea that he’s kind of like a dog with a complete lack of self-worth,” he explains. “He just keeps turning up, reporting for duty. But then I hope the reveal is that it’s a combination of deep, misguided guilt, and also survival. It’s him just saying, ‘I’ll just keep lowering my expectations the whole time.’”
Ren & Stimpy: The Surprising Dark History of the Series
We’ll track down what went wrong with this once-promising show, Ren & Stimpy.
Written and directed by Academy Award winner Bong Joon Ho,Mickey 17stars Robert Pattinson(The Batman, Tenet) several times over, with the rest of the cast comprised of Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker), Steven Yeun (Nope), with Academy Award nominees Toni Collette (Hereditary), and Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things). Based on the novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton, the movie was initially set for release in March 2024 but was indefinitely taken off the release schedule due to the SAG-AFTRA strike causing delays. Mickey 17 is now due to land in theaters on August 11, 2025, and you can check out the official synopsis below.
“From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho, comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience, “Mickey 17.” The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.”
Adapted from the novel by Edward Ashton, Mickey 7 is a Sci-Fi film that follows Mickey 17 (Robert Pattinson) and his journey to the ice world Niflheim to colonize the planet. Mickey 17 is an “expendable” employee to be used and thrown away after completing their task - often a dangerous one - but when one iteration of Mickey dies, he is reborn in a new body with a large portion of his memories still intact. After six deaths, however, Mickey finally begins to understand the job and why it was always an unfilled position.
