‘Mickey 17’s Mark Ruffalo Hints At Trump Parallels In “Petty Dictator” Role: “Totally Underplayed”

Although Mark Ruffalo‘s character in Mickey 17 might elicit some deja vu, he recently noted that any similarities to real political leaders are purely coincidental.

While discussing his role in writer-director Bong Joon-ho‘s upcoming sci-fi satire, now playing in South Korea and premiering March 7 in US theaters, the 4x Oscar nominee hinted at parallels between his Kenneth Marshall and President Donald Trump.

“I play a petty dictator,” he said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon before pausing for reaction. “At the time, we shot it three years ago, and I thought this is over the top. And now, I realize it’s totally underplayed. I mean, I made a documentary.”

Bong’s followup to his 2019 Oscar-winner Parasite stars Robert Pattinson as the titular Mickey Barnes, who signs up to be a disposable clone worker on the human colony of Nilfheim, going on deadly missions without expecting to return alive as a new copy will be made of his body. After Mickey 17 is prematurely presumed dead, another copy is made. As the colony dictates only one living copy can exist at a time, they’re both at risk of being destroyed.

Described in Deadline’s review as a “Donald Trump surrogate,” Ruffalo’s antagonist is an egomaniacal politician with nefarious plans for the colony.

At last month’s Berlin Film Festival, Bong explained that Mickey 17 is more than “just” a sci-fi film. “It’s about humanity. The story of Mickey revolves around an ordinary powerless and vulnerable young man,” he said.