Cruella features Disney's first openly gay character, Artie, and also pays homage to the gender-bending musician David Bowie. Portrayed by British actor John McCrea, the vintage shop owner has a glam rock aesthetic, which thematically aligns with the primary 1970s London setting. In a 2021 interview, McCrea reveals that not only did Bowie influence the Disney character Artie, but that the iconic artist is also a major inspiration for him in general.

In the film, Artie sports shaggy blond hair, heavy makeup, painted nails, and eccentric clothes. The character immediately forms a connection with Emma Stone's Estella Miller, an aspiring fashion designer who ultimately becomes Cruella de Vil. Artie regularly conspires with Cruella about creating mayhem, making art, and being original - concepts that are specific to London's glam rock movement and the punk rock movement that followed during the late '70s and early '80s. In particular, it was David Bowie who inspired a generation to be their original, authentic selves.

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In Cruella, Artie is stylized like Bowie's early '70s alter-ago Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous character from the 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Aesthetically, both figures have similar hair and makeup preferences, with McCrea adopting Ziggy's basic mannerisms. In Cruella, Artie informs Estella that he does indeed encounter trouble on the street about his look, but he doesn't worry what others think about him. Bowie took the same approach with his career, evidenced by his innovative style. Bowie didn't just write about a character named Ziggy Stardust, but rather took on the persona, which was inspired by English rock singer Vince Taylor. During a May 2021 interview (via Gay Times), McCrea explains how Bowie and T. Rex singer Marc Bolan influenced Cruella's Artie:

"I remember when I auditioned for it the first time. [Marc] Bolan was given as a reference, so I had him in my head a lot. When I went to the audition, I wore this shirt as outrageously as I dared, something I would never wear on the street. I actually borrowed it from my friend because I didn’t even have anything that outrageous, and I put it on in the toilet of the audition. I was thinking of David Bowie to Mark Bolan, but David Bowie is in the back of my head all of the time, no matter what I’m doing – even if I’m just in Tesco. So, I couldn’t escape it."

John McCrea as Artie in Cruella on Disney+

Before Cruella, McCrea portrayed other androgynous and cross-dressing character in previous roles. He appeared as a younger version of the drag queen Loco Chanelle in the musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie, and also portrayed Angel on stage in Rent. Although such characters are wholly unique, with their own distinct personalities and world views, they are indeed connected by glam rock sensibilities that Bowie made popular during the '70s. In fact, McCrea reveals in the aforementioned Gay Times interview that Artie was originally a drag queen, and explains why that detail was left out:

"Interestingly, in one of the first scripts, he was a drag queen. But then, that idea changed because everyone realised it was more important, like I said, that it’s a lifestyle choice for him – it’s not a performance. But yeah, he’s fabulous in every single way. I think it’s important to say he is queer because obviously, lots of people were dressed like that at the time that weren’t necessarily queer, but in my head, he always was."

In Cruella, Artie's performance channels the spirit of '70s rock. More importantly, he embraced the spirit of David Bowie. The movie focused on Estella's journey to realizing that she was and had always been Cruella inside. But Artie is to be commended for living authentically at a time in which androgyny was judged even more than it is now, inspired by Bowie, who did the same. Artie is not just a gay shop owner in Disney's Cruella, nor is he just a fan of '70s rock. He contains multitudes and finds inner strength by loving himself, first and foremost.

More: Cruella Soundtrack Guide: Every Song In The Movie