WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Mickey 17.
Robert Pattinson’s accent in Bong Joon-ho’sMickey 17is one of the most unforgettable parts of his dual performance as Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. The film acts as Bong Joon-ho’s highly anticipatedfollow-up to the Best Picture winnerParasitefollowing a 5-year gap between his last two film releases. AlthoughMickey 17isn’t nearly as critically acclaimed asParasite, it still has a relatively solidRotten Tomatoesscore of 78%. The film is based on the 2022 novelMickey 7butMickey 17has many big changes from the book.
Since hisTwilightandHarry Potterdays,Pattinson has taken on all sorts of roles as both a dramatic and comedic actor. Many viewers will recognize him as the latest live-action version of Bruce Wayne in 2022’sThe Batman. Pattinson has also starred in the Christopher Nolan action thrillerTenet(2020), the Oscar-nominated psychological horrorThe Lighthouse(2019), and the Safdie Brothers' critically acclaimed heist movieGood Time. WhileMickey 17is considered a sci-fi adventure movie, it’s also a dark comedy, marking a rare comedic performance from Pattinson.
Robert Pattinson’s Mickey 17 Accent Is Hilarious
It Makes Mickey Much More Naturally Comedic
Robert Pattinson’s accent as Mickey Barnes inMickey 17is an unusual but hilarious feature of Pattinson’s performance. Pattinson has altered his voice in his performances before, particularly forThe Batman, but none of his previous characters have ever sounded quite like Mickey, who has a sort of squeaky New York-inspired accent. It simply makes everything he does in Mickey 17 funnier because the accent is undeniably humorous, especially coming from someone like Pattinson.The closest accent to hisMickey 17one can be heard inGood Time, in which his character Connie Mikas speaks with a high-pitched city-inspired tone.
Mickey provides a lot of voiceover content throughoutMickey 17, so Pattinson’s accent is truly unmissable and sometimes inescapable. It paints Mickey in a gentler light as someone who might be uninspired or nervous, which checks out considering his gruesome profession as an Expendable.Mickey has died sixteen brutal deathsleading up to his appearance in Mickey 17, so his soft-spoken demeanor makes sense.
The accent certainly adds to the comedic value of Pattinson’s character.
The accent certainly adds to the comedic value of Pattinson’s character. If Pattinson had just gone with his normal speaking voice for the character, Mickey would have been received in an entirely different way and may not have been as effective.The book does not note that Mickey had a distinct accentso Pattinson came up with it on his own.
Steve Buscemi Inspired Robert Pattinson’s Mickey 17 Accent
Buscemi Was “Blown Away” By The News
Pattinson revealed that the inspiration for his distinct accent inMickey 17was none other than Steve Buscemi’s performance as Carl Showalter in the Coen Brothers' Oscar-winning filmFargo(1996). According toVariety,Pattinson accidentally took inspiration from the Buscemi characterand only realized it long after production had wrapped. “I actually think I realized today what I was doing,” he revealed back in February. “I kind of did it by accident, but I don’t think I realized that until today. I thought I was doing something else.”
I Can’t Believe How Much Bong Joon-ho Changed Mickey 17 From The Book
Mickey 17 changes an extraordinary number of characters & plot details, making it difficult to call the movie a true adaption of its source material.
Pattinson explained thisFargorevelation further, “We were doing an interview earlier and Bong said one of the thoughts he was having for [Mickey] 18 was Peter Stormare from ‘Fargo.’ And then I think how that went into my head was to do Steve Buscemi as 17.”
This news got around to the Emmy-winning Buscemi himself, who discussed it withThe Hollywood Reporter. “I’m kind of blown away that happened. I’m not sure if that’s what he meant or if he was inspired by my accent, my voice or the way my character spoke. Without seeing the film,I’m not sure what he’s referring to but I’m blown away by it.”
Robert Pattinson’s Mickey 17 Accent Continues A Great Trend
He’s Done All Sorts Of Accents & Even Voice Acting In His Previous Films
Pattinson is actually quite well-versed in performing with various voices in his numerous film characters. Compared to someone like Denzel Washington or Mark Wahlberg who mostly maintains their natural speaking voices in their films, Pattinson has a much wider range of voices that he employs depending on the character. This makes him a versatile voice actor as well – he provided thevoice for The Grey Heron in Studio Ghibli 2024 Best Animated Feature Oscar winnerThe Boy and the Heron. He also did a southern U.S. accent inThe Rover(2014) and a French one inThe King(2019) before starring inMickey 17.
