“In order to make the ape characters in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes appear more authentic, the movie’s cast, consisting of human actors, underwent six weeks of training at an ape school, as revealed by one of the film’s stars.”
According to Owen Teague, the actors portraying apes underwent six weeks of training at Ape School before filming began. The training included stunt work, physical preparation, and working with coach Alain Gauthier to improvise and embody the movements and characteristics of their ape characters. This allowed the actors to fully immerse themselves in their roles and bring their characters to life.
“Andy advised me to become more aware of where I hold tension in my body, to observe how Noa reacts to pressure from his father, and to pay attention to his posture when he feels capable. In essence, using my body as a way to express my internal state.”
Teague, who portrays Noa, the young chimpanzee hunter, elaborated on his approach to portraying the character’s movements. He shared, “Caesar’s upbringing among humans influenced his mannerisms and self-perception. However, Noa has never encountered humans and is unfamiliar with their existence. In order to accurately depict a chimp who has grown up with fellow chimps, I focused on quadrupedal movements and avoided standing upright.”
During his CBR interview, Gauthier, the movie’s movement coordinator, provided further insight on how he trained the actors to embody their roles as apes.
According to Gauthier, his role involves collaborating with the actors and utilizing his physical theater training to focus on movement. He leads the actors through a two-week program of movement training and exercises with the goal of increasing their body awareness. The training includes group and individual exercises that improve coordination and coherence. The ultimate goal is to enable the actors to let go of any preconceived notions and become a master of their body, allowing for a pure and authentic character to emerge.
The coordinator emphasized the importance of teaching the actors the specific traits and movements of apes, as they already had a grasp on their characters’ personalities on paper.
After Gauthier instructed the cast on the movements of apes, they would then incorporate that aspect of their character with one from the script, resulting in a fusion that brings the character to life for the audience.
Although audiences cannot physically attend the same ape school as the cast, director Wes Ball has announced that the home release of the movie will feature an alternate version without VFX effects. This will allow viewers to witness the actors’ ape training in action.
The Planet of the Apes Kingdom is currently showing in cinemas.
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