The new animated comedy
Sneaks follows a pair of one-of-a-kind, collector sneakers, Ty (Anthony Mackie,
Captain America: Brave New World) and Maxine (Chloe Bailey,
The Little mermaid). When Ty ends up lost and alone on the mean streets of NYC, he falls in with an eclectic cast of shoes who help him learn that your best life begins when you get out of your box.
Rico Rodriguez (
Modern Family) spoke with SciFi Vision about his role as Ice, a brash basketball shoe he describes as “a hard-nosed, bully type on the basketball court [who] trash talks, all that, but likes to settle it on the court.”
“Yes, it’s a movie about talking sneakers but it’s a lot more,” he told us. “The message is individuality, trusting yourself and putting your best self forward.” A shoe collector himself, Rodriguez knows what the right sneaker can mean. “These shoes are an extension of yourself and by wearing them you’re more confident, you walk better, you walk taller. And [
Sneaks is] about finding the right pair and I love that. It’s a fun movie, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
In our short interview, Rodriguez also told us how a shoe won him the role, why he loves collecting shoes, and where he stands on the wear-them-or-display-them question.