In South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film, Mickey 17, Robert Pattinson plays a space traveller facing a succession of death sentences. The film is based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 science fiction novel, Mickey7. Pattinson's character, Mickey Barnes, is an “expendable”, a disposable crew member on a space mission, selected for dangerous tasks because he can be renewed — if his body dies — with his memories largely intact. With one regeneration, though, things go very wrong.
What was compelling about this script that made you want to play this part?
ROBERT PATTINSON: It’s signature Bong Joon-ho; he does tragicomedies, a rare genre. Every aspect of it — comedy, sci-fi, tragedy combined — feels different, risky. But also, the script was unusual, the humour in it was strange, even the structure of it was different. Playing against myself (Pattinson plays multiple versions of himself), seemed on first read, like, “Okay, I get it”. But I started breaking down the script, and there were aspects of it which seemed challenging to achieve. But Joon-ho did it well.
Where do we find Mickey Barnes when the story begins?
RP: I like describing Mickey as a failed pastry chef. He’s tried to start a macaron store on Earth, which has failed. He’s taken out a loan with disreputable people and can’t pay it back, so he tries to flee the planet. But he doesn’t read the fine print in his space colonisation contract — he’s essentially signed up for a life of living hell. But because his life was so awful before, he thinks it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. He’s a ridiculous character, but he has a lot of heart to him.
How was your first meeting with the director?
RP: I was extremely nervous. I didn’t know anything about the project and he’s a legendary figure — I had no idea what to expect. Our meeting was funny, he wanted to dance around what the movie was about and not say anything about it, and it was all translated. I knew whatever he planned to do with the film, it was going to be something unusual ... and that’s generally what I’m attracted to.
What were the biggest challenges for you playing two distinct versions of the same character, Mickey 17 and Mickey 18, playing against yourself?
RP: The biggest difficulty was that we were on a spaceship without [a lot of other crew] so they couldn’t be too distinctly different to the other characters in the story — but they had to be very distinct to the audience ... In the beginning, we had prosthetic ears and crazy experimental things. There was a moment where I had really chubby cheeks as 17, with prosthetics inside my cheeks. I’m glad that didn’t end up in the film. After distilling it, we realised we had to do very little aesthetically to convey to the audience that, “Oh, these are different guys”. It’s a look in the eye more than anything else. It’s crazy how it works. You can see who’s who almost immediately.
What's it like working with Joon-ho and being on a set with him?
RP: We didn’t talk much about the character. We had some dinners and talked about football most of the time. But then, there was a gigantic spaceship on set, so we were on a different planet with the huge cast and crew, and lots of people in the background There’s something about Joon-ho’s attitude. He’s unruffled all the time and has a benignly amused mode he’s in when directing. It feels like nothing can go wrong when you are working with him. Everyone put a lot of trust in him. It was an enjoyable set.
Why do you think the film will appeal to moviegoers around the globe?
RP: Joon-ho has a unique perspective on the world. It’s funny. You’d think the person most able to connect with the audience would be the most relatable person, but Joon-ho is an unusual guy who sees things from a different vantage point. I guess it’s what any brilliant artist has — a singularity of vision — it makes you see the world differently. No other director could have made this movie. It’s unique.
You have scenes with Naomi Ackie who plays Nasha. The relationship between Mickey and Nasha is a wonderful to watch. What was it like working with her?
RN: Naomi’s funny, unusual and wild. I couldn’t predict what she was going to do. The relationship between Nasha and Mickey is strange. He’s an unusual person, he’s not even really human and she doesn’t seem to mind. She looks past faults to an extreme extent, seeing past skin deep; she doesn’t judge a book by its cover. Or maybe she does ... maybe she really likes the cover and doesn’t care what the contents are.
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