Tom Kenny, the voice actor of SpongeBob, revealed that the animated character is autistic.
Kenny, 62, recently spoke at Motor City Comic Con 2024 in Detroit and told fans about a past time when he confirmed SpongeBob’s diagnosis.
“SpongeBob is also on a spectrum as a character,” he said in a video from ToonHive’s X account shared on Tuesday.
“The last convention I did in McAllen, Texas, was the first time I was asked this question,” Kenny continued. “A person who was obviously on the spectrum came up to me and said, ‘I have a question for you, Tom Kenny. Is SpongeBob autistic?’”
“I said, ‘Yeah, of course. Of course it is,’” the comedian recalled. “I said, ‘You know what? That’s his superpower, just like that’s your superpower.’”
Kenny has lent his voice to SpongeBob in the beloved cartoon show since its premiere in 1999.
She won two Daytime Emmy Awards and an Annie Award for her work on the series.
The first time Kenny talked about his character being neurodivergent was in 2012 on the show “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast.
“I don’t know what it is about that show that speaks to kids who are on the autism spectrum, but more than other cartoons… because SpongeBob as a character is a little bit autistic,” Kenny said at the time.
“Obsessed with his work, very hard-working, he gets very involved in something.”
In 2019, Kenny said he always felt similar to the cartoon sponge.
“I felt like I had just gotten [SpongeBob],” he said Entertainment Weekly“You think, ‘Oh, I know this guy. I can play him. ’ I feel like there’s a shared DNA between me and this character.”
He continued: “We’ve all felt that way. That’s part of Steve’s brilliance. He seemed pretty sure of his decisions once he made them and there was no talking him out of it.”
“SpongeBob SquarePants” was created by the late Stephen Hillenburg, who died of ALS at age 57 in November 2018.my
Earlier that year, Kenny He spoke about Hillenburg’s achievements The television producer was honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) at the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
“Sometime in 1997, Stephen Hillenburg showed me some drawings he had done for a show he was thinking of pitching to Nickelodeon about a good-hearted sponge, his goofy starfish friend, a greedy boss crab, a grumpy squid neighbor, a pint-sized enemy and a Texas squirrel who has gone underwater,” Kenny said in his speech.
“I know, I’ve seen it before, right? I fell in love with it immediately and it seems that other people have too,” she added.
“SpongeBob’s vocal cords may be mine, but SpongeBob’s playful spirit, gentle energy, humor and the joy he feels in his vibrant, colorful, music-filled world come 100 percent directly from my good friend, Mr. Stephen Hillenburg,” Kenny said.
“SpongeBob SquarePants” is in its 14th season on Nickelodeon. It was renewed for season 15 last year.
‘This article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: celebrity.land ‘
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