Robert Pattinson Channels The Greatest ’90s Cartoon For Upcoming Sci-Fi Thriller

The general conceit of Robert Pattinson’s character in Mickey 17 is that he signed up to be an “expendable,” meaning that he is repeatedly killed and reborn (or “reprinted” in the film’s parlance) in the name of science. Typically, a new version isn’t created until the old one dies, but the movie focuses on what happens when a new clone is created while the earlier one is still alive.

The actor wanted to differentiate the two clones through different voices and settled on Ren and Stimpy, revealing that Mickey 17 sounds more like the latter and that Mickey 18 sounds more like the former.

It seems obvious that Robert Pattinson wanted to use these animated icons as inspiration for his Mickey 17 performances because he is a huge fan of Ren and Stimpy, a show that portrayed a hilariously contentious relationship between a dog and a cat. However, the actor uses Ren’s voice to demonstrate that his character is losing some of his humanity with every grisly death. “I just had this idea that he’s kind of like a dog with a complete lack of self-worth.”

Considering that Robert Pattinson is channeling Ren’s voice for Mickey 18, his dog analogy makes sense on the surface level…this is the premature clone replacement for Mickey 17, and it makes sense that he would be even more worn down than his predecessor. As the actor notes of his beleaguered clone, “he just keeps turning up, reporting for duty.” That might sound familiar to anyone caught up in the rat race, but his character’s surface-level view on life disguises something much deeper and bleaker.

According to Robert Pattinson, his Mickey 17 performance will ideally lead to a “reveal…that it’s a combination of deep, misguided guilt, and also survival.” What we are seeing is “him just saying, ‘I’ll keep lowering my expectations the whole time.” In this sense, the use of Ren and Stimpy voices makes sense, as cartoonish line deliveries are used to obscure a deeper pain on the part of the character.

On a lighter note, Robert Pattinson originally wanted to channel some very different icons for his Mickey 17 characters…namely, Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville from Jackass. He’s a big fan of the show, but director Bong Joon Ho bluntly told the actor that these voices “sound like nails on a chalkboard.” After getting confirmation that this wasn’t “a good thing,” he switched to Ren and Stimpy.

Tales like this are a great reminder of just how quirky Robert Pattinson can be, and your enjoyment of Mickey 17 may depend on how much you enjoyed watching him play off-kilter characters in other offbeat movies such as The Lighthouse.

Certainly, the idea of channeling old-school cartoon characters like Ren and Stimpy in Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho’s latest movie is a bold choice, but post-Twilight Pattinson has built an entire career out of making bold creative choices that give audiences what they are least expecting.

And if someone goes into Mickey 17 expecting him to just reprise his Batman performance, the actor might just channel Ren one more time to give them an important message: “you EEDIOT!”

Source: Empire