Washington [USA], December 25 : Chris Diamantopoulos, 49, describes it as a surreal experience to be one of only five persons in Disney's 101-year history to be cast as the voice of the company's official mascot, Mickey Mouse. He calls himself a lucky guy and feels incredibly fortunate to be given this chance.
Chris who currently stars as as a mobster on 'The Sticky' also lends his voice to a famous children's icon: Mickey Mouse. As per the report of People, the voice actor calls it a strange and surreal feeling. He says,
"It's so strange. I mean, honestly, there are a lot of things in my career that, if you had told me when I was a kid that I would be doing them, I might sort of think, 'wow, I could see that,'" he says. But playing Mickey Mouse was "a massive left turn.", Chris added.
Chirs continues, "It's humbling because I stood on the shoulders of giants. I feel incredibly fortunate. I'm a really, really lucky guy. I barely finished high school, and for me to be the fifth voice in history after Walt [Disney], to voice Mickey Mouse, I wear that like a badge of honor," he says. The other long-term Mickeys have been Disney, Wayne Allwine, Bret Iwan and Les Perkins."
Being the voice of Mickey Mouse, the voice actor humbly credits "brilliant" animator Paul Rudish and all of the Disney writers and animation team for Mickey's indefatigable appeal.
"The voice is Mickey. But the expressions that you see that Mickey gets to do...that's all by virtue of the brilliant talent of these hardworking and not-often-advertised writers and animators. There's something about this incarnation of Mickey that I think is the freest Mickey," he adds.
Along with voicing Mickey for TV, he also speaks and sings as Mickey for the Disneyland ride Mickey's Magic Railway, the park's first ride focused on the mascot.
He also takes his family to these parks, as per the report of People. Chris and his wife, Becki Newton, share one son and three daughters. "I get to take my kids to this ride where they hear my voice and they see me, and I'm guiding them through, he says. "Can you even imagine what a dream that is?"
"Every time I get to voice Mickey, it reminds me of why I got into this business: because of the magic, that intangible, beautiful feeling that we have when we fall into the fantasy world."
Chris who is currently working in The Sticky is streaming on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video.