By Bryanne Salazar
8:35am PDT, Mar 20, 2018
"Isle of Dogs" arrives in theaters on March 23, 2018. The stop-animation adventure from filmmaker Wes Anderson is a futuristic tale about a 12-year-old boy's journey from his home in Megasaki City, Japan, to a literal dump called Trash Island in search of his dog, Spots, who was sent there (along with all the other dogs in the city) to protect humans from a canine-transmitted virus. While Atari searches for his beloved pup, he forms an unbreakable bond with a pack of mongrels who vow to help him reunite with his four-legged friend. To mark the film's release, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at the characters and the actors who play them… starting with Atari Kobayashi (center), the boy who defies the rules in order to save his best friend. Keep reading to learn more about who plays Atari, as well as the rest of the cast and characters in this exciting new film…
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Koyu Rankin, 11, who's relatively new to Hollywood, is the voice of Atari Kobayashi. In fact, "Isle of Dogs" is his first full-length film role. Prior to this part, Koyu lent his voice to two video shorts, "Juken" and "The Mojo Stars." The young voice artist is fluent in both Japanese and English thanks to his Scottish-Canadian father and Japanese mother.
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In the 2018 animated family fantasy film "Isle of Dogs," comedian Bill Murray voices Boss, a dog who's been sentenced to spend the rest of his life on Trash Island.
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Oscar-nominated actor, writer, producer and "Saturday Night Live" alum Bill Murray is still doing his thing in 2018. Along with voicing the canine Boss in "Isle of Dogs," the film legend continues to co-star in and produce his reality TV comedy series "Extra Innings." He's also got another animated character on the horizon: Bill will reportedly lend his voice to the upcoming DreamWorks Animation adventure "B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations."
Liev Schreiber is the voice of Spots, Atari Kobayashi's beloved dog and best friend who was taken from him and sent to Trash Island, in "Isle of Dogs."
One look at Liev Schreiber's Instagram account and it's pretty obvious that any assignment having to do with dogs is probably one the real-life dog owner loves. Along with voicing the character Spots in "Isle of Dogs," the noted stage, movie and television actor will also lend his voice to a character in the 2018 animated adventure "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." He's also set to star alongside Elle Fanning and Timothee Chalamet in the comedy "A Rainy Day in New York." Though Liev has been linked to former Miss South Dakota Taylor Neisen since the fall of 2017, his rep has denied their relationship is romantic. He shares two sons with his former partner, Naomi Watts.
In "Isle of Dogs," Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton lends her voice to the character The Oracle Dog.
"Dr. Strange" and "Snowpiercer" actress Tilda Swinton has long been known for taking on bold and diverse roles. In addition to voicing The Oracle Dog in "Isle of Dogs," London-born Tilda is set to star in the 2018 fantasy thriller "Suspiria." She's also been signed as the lead in Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's newest film project, "Memoria," which is about the violence in Colombia during the 1970s and '80s. Since 2004, Tilda's been in a relationship with visual artist Sandro Kopp. She shares two children with her former partner, playwright John Byrne.
In the 2018 futuristic animated fantasy adventure "Isle of Dogs," Edward Norton is the voice of Rex (left), a dog who's been banished to Trash Island by the leaders of Megasaki City.
Before lending his voice to the character Rex in "Isle of Dogs," Oscar-nominated actor, writer, director and producer Edward Norton previously voiced several other animated characters including Bruce Banner in the video game version of "The Incredible Hulk" and Sammy in the cartoon comedy "Sausage Party." Up next for Edward is the 2019 crime drama "Motherless Brooklyn." He's starring in the film, which he also wrote, directed and produced. Edward married Canadian film producer Shauna Robertson in 2012 and in 2013, they welcomed their only child, son Atlas.
Bryan Cranston is the voice of Chief, the leader of a pack of mongrel dogs on Trash Island in the animated adventure "Isle of Dogs." Chief is determined to find a way off the island and help 12-year-old Atari find his four-legged friend, Spots.
"Breaking Bad" alum and California native Bryan Cranston began his acting career doing local and regional theater and supplemented his initially meager acting income — he was a founding cast member on the soap opera "Loving" in the early '80s — with jobs waiting tables, loading trucks and working as a night security guard. These days, the Emmy-winning (and Oscar-nominated) actor, writer and producer has numerous projects in the works. Along with voicing Chief in "Isle of Dogs," Bryan's got roles in two upcoming feature films including another animated adventure, "Ivan the One and Only." He's also producing the new TV series "A Dangerous Book for Boys" — he wrote two episodes — which debuts on March 30, 2018. Fun fact: Bryan's also the creator and producer of the TV crime drama "Sneaky Pete" and a producer on Amazon's sci-fi anthology series "Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams."
Actor Bob Balaban is the voice of King (left), a dog sent to Trash Island in "Isle of Dogs."
Bob Balaban's Hollywood career has spanned more than 50 years. Most often cast as a judge, doctor or politician in smaller TV roles (he was Dr. Rice on "Girls" and Judge Leonard B. Sand on "Show Me a Hero"), he's also a noted film actor, director and producer. Along with voicing King in "Isle of Dogs," Bob's also co-starring in the 2018 big-screen comedy "An L.A. Minute" and producing the biographical dramedy "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" starring Melissa McCarthy. He's been married to Lynn Grossman since 1977. They share two daughters.
In "Isle of Dogs," actor Jeff Goldblum lends his voice to Duke, a member of the mongrel pack of canines on Trash Island.
Jeff Goldblum never goes out of style. The handsome actor and "Portlandia" star has a busy 2018 planned. Along with voicing the canine Duke in "Isle of Dogs" and starring in the drama "The Mountain," Jeff's resurrecting his "Jurassic Park" character, Dr. Ian Malcolm, in "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" co-starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt. Jeff's also co-starring in the futuristic thriller "Hotel Artemis." Since 2014, Jeff has been married to Canadian dancer Emilie Livingston. Together they have two young sons, Charlie and River.
In the animated fantasy "Isle of Dogs," Oscar-nominated director and actress Greta Gerwig voices Tracy Walker, a girl who realizes she has a crush on Atari Kobayashi, the young boy who travels to Trash Island to find his dog.
Oscar-nominated "Lady Bird" writer and director Greta Gerwig might have gotten her start in Hollywood as an actress, but she's always dreamed of being a playwright. While the odds seemed stacked against her (she was rejected by every master's degree playwriting program she applied to), she defied them all to become one of today's most talked-about filmmakers. She's also a talented actress who's appeared in films like "Jackie" and "Frances Ha." Along with voicing Tracy Walker in "Isle of Dogs" in 2018, Greta has a role in boyfriend Noah Baumbach's currently untitled comedy, due in theaters on Nov. 30. She's also set to star in the 2019 drama "Bergman Island."
Oscar-winning actor F. Murray Abraham is the voice of canine refugee Jupiter in 2018's "Isle of Dogs." The former "Homeland" star began his on-screen career in 1971's "They May Be Giants" while continuing to appear in theater productions. In 2018, he'll return to the stage in an Off-Broadway production of "Good for Otto" and in 2019, he'll voice Grimmel in "How to Train Your Dragon 3." Since 1962, he's been married to Kate Hannan. They have two children.
In the 2018 animated adventure "Isle of Dogs," Scarlett Johansson voices pretty pooch Nutmeg. The former child actress has several other projects in the works for 2018 including the Marvel Universe blockbuster "Avengers: Infinity War." Scarlett is also signed on to appear alongside Greta Gerwig in Noah Baumbach's currently untitled comedy that arrives in theaters on Nov. 30. The twice-divorced actress has been dating "Saturday Night Live" star Colin Jost since 2017.
Emmy and Tony winner Courtney B. Vance is the narrator in "Isle of Dogs." After starring in "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, Courtney is next set to appear on TV in the comedy "Compliance" as well as the drama "Heist 88" (the latter of which he also produced). Since 1997, Courtney's been married to actress Angela Bassett. They share two children.
