Bret Iwan
Iwan at the 2022 GalaxyCon Richmond
Born
Bret William Iwan[1]

(1982-09-10) September 10, 1982 (age 41)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
Alma materRingling College of Art and Design
Occupations
  • Voice actor
  • illustrator
Years active2009–present
Spouse
Douglas Hoffman
​
(m. 2021)​

Bret William Iwan (born September 10, 1982)[2] is an American voice actor and illustrator. He has been the fourth and current voice of Mickey Mouse following the death of Wayne Allwine in May 2009.[3]

Early life

Bret William Iwan was born on September 10, 1982, and raised in Pasadena, California, he is the son of Bill and Fiona Iwan.[2]

He attended LeRoy High School in Le Roy, Illinois, from 1996 to 2000.[4] He graduated from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Iwan eventually got a job as an illustrator at Hallmark.[5]

Career

Iwan was hired to voice Mickey Mouse and replace Wayne Allwine after the latter died on May 18, 2009.[3] Iwan had previously understudied for the role when Allwine was facing health difficulties and Iwan credits Allwine's archival work as providing excellent mentorship.[6]

Iwan first recorded Mickey Mouse dialogue for the Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park as well as the 2009 shows Disney On Ice: Celebrations and Disney Live: Rockin' Road Show.[7] He voiced Mickey Mouse in Have a Laugh!. He gave his first full performance as Mickey Mouse for the English version of the PlayStation Portable game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He also gave his voice performance as Mickey Mouse in the Epic Mickey games.

His first voice-over work in a Disney Park could be heard in the Animal Kingdom closing show "Adventurers' Celebration Gathering" as well as on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover attraction at the Magic Kingdom in which, upon passing through Mickey's Star Traders, Mickey responds with his signature laugh and says: "That's right, it's outta this world!".

Personal life

Iwan is openly gay, making him the first openly LGBTQ+ actor to voice Mickey Mouse. He married his longtime partner, art director Douglas Hoffman, in July 2021.[8][non-primary source needed]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2022 Mickey: The Story of a Mouse Himself, Mickey Mouse Voices Mickey in the film's Mickey in a Minute animated short

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009–2012 Have a Laugh! Mickey Mouse 60 episodes
2012–2016 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 26 episodes
2011–2014 Mickey's World Record Animals 10 episodes
2012–present Minnie's Bow-Toons
2013 Wheel of Fortune Episode: "Making Disney Memories Week"
2017–2021 Mickey and the Roadster Racers/Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures 87 episodes[9]
2017 Chip 'n Dale's Nutty Tales 6 episodes
2018 Mickey's 90th Spectacular Television special
2020 Mickey Mornings
CAVE iN Himself Episode: "Weldon's Troll Mob"
2021–present Mickey Mouse Funhouse Mickey Mouse
Martian Mickey		 Main cast[10]
2022 Mickey Saves Christmas Mickey Mouse Stop-motion television special

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Mickey Mouse
Epic Mickey
2011 Kingdom Hearts: Re:Coded
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
2012 Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
2013 Disney Infinity
Where's My Mickey
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (358/2 Days HD cutscenes)
2014 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (Birth by Sleep game and Re:coded HD cutscenes)
2015 Disney Infinity 3.0 [11]
2016 Disney Magic Kingdoms Initial release; voice lines were removed in a later update
2017 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX (358/2 Days HD cutscenes, Birth by Sleep game and Re:coded HD cutscenes)
2019 Kingdom Hearts III
2020 Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory
2022 Disney Dreamlight Valley
2023 Disney Illusion Island
Disney Speedstorm Mickey Mouse
Steamboat Mickey

Theme park attractions

Year Title Role Note
2013 Mickey and the Magical Map Mickey Mouse
2015 World of Color: Celebrate! Animated sequences
2017 Fantasmic! Disneyland version
2019 Disney's Not So Spooky Spectacular Animated sequences
2022 Disney Enchantment Animated segment
2022 Fantasmic! Disney's Hollywood Studios version

References

  1. ^ "Bret William Iwan, Born 9/10/1982 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Feder, Joan (September 17, 2019). "I've Heard that Voice Before: Bret Iwan". AllEars.net. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  3. ^ a b McLellan, Dennis (May 21, 2009). "Wayne Allwine, Voice of Mickey Mouse, Dies at 62". Los Angeles Times (Obituary). Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "LeRoy grad hits Hallmark in art career". March 22, 2006.
  5. ^ "Bret Iwan". Voice Chasers. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Diehl, Jace (September 8, 2022). "How Bret Iwan Became the NEW Voice of Mickey Mouse" – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "Iwan, Bret". D23. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "Instagram".
  9. ^ "Bret Iwan". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  10. ^ "Spaced Out! / Treasure, Ahoy!". DisneyNow. August 20, 2021. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021.
  11. ^ Avalanche Software. Disney Infinity 3.0. Scene: Closing credits, 5:39 in, Featuring the Voice Talents of.

External links

Preceded byWayne Allwine Voice of Mickey Mouse 2009–present Succeeded byIncumbent


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