Chris Diamantopoulos received candid on being considered one of solely 5 people who have voiced Disney icon Mickey Mouse.
From 2013 to 2019, the actor who at present stars as a mobster in The Sticky and is greatest identified for his roles on The Office and Silicon Valley, lent his voice to Mickey within the animated Mickey Mouse collection, persevering with the position in its follow-up, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, from 2020 to 2023.
The actor is considered one of simply 5 people in Disney’s 101-year historical past to voice the enduring character.
“It’s so unusual,” Diamantopoulos shared. “Honestly, there are a whole lot of issues in my profession that, in case you had informed me once I was a child that I’d be doing them, I’d form of assume, ‘wow, I may see that.’ But enjoying Mickey Mouse was a large left flip.”
He describes the honour as each surreal and humbling.
“I barely completed highschool, and for me to be the fifth voice in historical past after Walt [Disney], to voice Mickey Mouse, I put on that like a badge of honour,” he stated, acknowledging previous Mickey voices like Disney himself, Wayne Allwine, Bret Iwan, and Les Perkins.
Diamantopoulos additionally praised the inventive staff behind the animated collection, calling animator Paul Rudish and Disney’s writers and animators “good.”
He credit their work for bringing Mickey’s character to life in a method that continues to resonate with audiences.
“The voice is Mickey, however the expressions that you simply see that Mickey will get to do…that’s all by advantage of the good expertise of those hardworking and not-often-advertised writers and animators.”
He believes this model of Mickey Mouse stands out for its liveliness.
“There’s one thing about this incarnation of Mickey that I feel is the freest Mickey,” he stated.
In addition to TV, Diamantopoulos voices Mickey for the Disneyland trip Mickey’s Magic Railway, the primary trip devoted to the character.
Reflecting on the expertise, he stated, “It was simply a lot enjoyable. I get to take my children to this trip the place they hear my voice and so they see me, and I’m guiding them via. Can you even think about what a dream that’s?”
For Diamantopoulos, voicing Mickey stays a reminder of why he pursued a profession in leisure.
“Every time I get to voice Mickey, it jogs my memory of why I received into this enterprise: due to the magic, that intangible, lovely feeling that we have now after we fall into the fantasy world.”
