Bong Joon Ho responds to Donald Trump comparison to ‘Mickey 17’ villain
As Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 hits cinemas, viewers have highlighted the similarities between his villainous character, played by Mark Ruffalo, and President Donald Trump. Now, the director has commented on who inspired the character.
The Parasite is known for his brand of dark comedies. Often with a slight political undertone, the Korean writer and director is a master at embedding meaning into a wild plot. Mickey 17 is no different as the film focuses on Mickey, played by Robert Pattinson, who signs up to be an ‘Expendable’ in space, meaning he is a disposable worker who gets cloned after he dies.
Mark Ruffalo plays Kenneth Marshall, a character described as an ‘egomaniacal politician’. As audiences see the film, they seem to see elements of Donald Trump in this character, but the director has now confirmed there was no one singular inspiration for Ruffalo’s character.
He told Entertainment Weekly that the inspiration comes from “a mix of many different politicians” and “dictators that we have seen throughout history.”
The director continued, “When we showed the film in Berlin and talked to people from many different countries, it seemed like people were projecting the most stressful political leader onto the character of Marshall.” It is simply that at the time the film premiered, and still today, Donald Trump appears as the ultimate example of a troubling leader, with audiences projecting him onto the film.
However, Ruffalo himself seems to have noticed the connection between his character and his country’s leader. “I play a petty dictator,” he said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Ruffola added: “At the time, we shot it three years ago, and I thought this is over the top. And now, I realise it’s totally underplayed. I mean, I made a documentary.”
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