7 Questions with PLANET OF THE APES Star Owen Teague

IMAX In Frame  ‌ ‌ ‌ Welcome to the story behind the story. This is IMAX In Frame   A Proper Primate In conversation with actor Owen Teague   Owen Teague may not be a household name just yet, but that's about to change as he knuckle-walks into one of cinema's longest running franchises. For over 60 years, THE PLANET OF THE APES series has defined what a Hollywood franchise looks like- spawning sequels, television shows, comics, remakes, and reboots to explore a fertile narrative universe. Numerous actors have been tasked with undergoing extensive transformations to portray the stories of these complex, evolved versions of our primate cousins. Since the 2011 reboot however, the series has updated to use motion capture, versus bogging actors down with heavy prosthetic makeup. What results are performances that preserve emotional nuance, while allowing for full immersion into the character's body. A discipline largely pioneered by Andy Serkis, (who starred in the previous three films), Teague takes on the reigns for the series as star of KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. He portrays Noa, an ambitious ape living in a time 300 years after Ceasar's conquest in the previous film. We sat down with Teague to chat about ape school, work-as-play with director Wes Ball, and bringing his character to IMAX screens. 1. While the very first PLANET OF THE APES films featured actors in heavy prosthetic makeup, the reboot series, (which began with 2011’s RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES), opted for motion capture performances instead. Did that change how you approached your craft? Was it like any other acting job for you, or did you find you had to change up your process to accommodate this unique role? Yes and no. It's funny because there is a technical kind of hump, I guess, that you have to just get over in getting used to the technology. The fact that there's a camera on your face, literally strapped to your head and you've got all this equipment on you — that can be a little jarring at first, but once you get used to it, which it takes about a week, it’s really no different. I It's the same acting, but you almost get more freedom and more tools to play with.  2. Speaking of mo cap, you’re the first non-Andy Serkis ape leading man for the reboot film series. How does it feel to be stepping into the shoes of the pioneer of motion capture performance? Did you spend any time watching his work, or taking any tips from him? What was it like to perform not in traditional wardrobe or costume, but the special mocap suits & censors instead? Yeah, I grew up on his performances. I went and saw [Peter Jackson's] KING KONG when I was 6 and it’s one of the movies that made me want to do this. Then of course I saw Gollum. His work was instrumental in my becoming an actor, so I was very familiar with this work. And then of course I saw all of the previous [APES films] in theatres. I loved those movies, and I watched them before the audition for this one, just to sort of see how he had approached it again, but I didn't want to base Noa too much on anything. I didn't want Noa to feel like Ceaser, [Serkis' character from the previous films]. But I did speak to him. We zoomed a few times before we started shooting and he was just "how can I assist? How can I be here?" Which was really amazing. And you know, to step into his shoes is, like, completely surreal. It still doesn't even feel like it's really kind of happening because it’s just so insane. What is the massive honor -- He's one of the greatest actors you know, ever, I think and so to follow him, is both very scary, of course, but also, just such a privilege. It means so much to me.  3. Aside from Andy, what sort of preparations did you do to step into the physicality of the character and make it your own? Was there a long process going from yourself to becoming Noa? We [also] had six weeks of “ape school”, taught by a man named Alain Gauthier who was in Cirque du Soleil. He’s got an amazing movement background and a physical theater background. He started us with more traditional movement classes basically, that quickly became specialized work to move like apes. Not just generalized apes; he really worked with us to develop individual characters physically and also mentally. A big part of his work with us was not just getting in our bodies but finding our voices. Finding out how each character stood and moved, Is this a quadra-ped moment? Is this a bipedal moment? He really delved into who these characters were, on top of just teaching us how to move like apes.  Before I went to Australia [where the movie filmed], I went down and I spent a week with chimpanzees, at a sanctuary called the Center for Great Apes, about an hour from where I grew up [in Florida]. The director of that sanctuary was very generous and let me come down, just hang out and watch. That was really, really crucial for me to kind of internalize the mannerisms and the physical elements, and also just watch their behavior, which is which is so similar to ours. It totally changes your perception of what makes us human. Really cool.  4. Did you grow up a fan of the earlier films at all? When working on something like this, that already has a built-in history, and fandom, do you like to do a lot of research going in? Or do you prefer to allow the current project to sort of fill your understanding of the universe? Not really, because Noa doesn't know, right? Some of the other characters, they know a lot about history, and if that were the case with Noa, then yes, I'd want the lore of the previous films. I had seen the 1968 film, but not for a long time. So I’m going to know what Noa knows, and that’s all I really want.  5. Of course, we have to ask about IMAX! IMAX screens are bigger, and IMAX sound is crisper. How do you feel about your performance gracing not just the big screen, but the biggest screens out there?  Oh my God. It's amazing. I mean it's the perfect movie for that, you know. This should be seen on the biggest screen possible. And it makes me happy that it’s not my own face that's 100 feet high. That's probably a bit much. [laughs].  The idea of my human face several stories high is a little intimidating to me, but Noa’s face, and the work of the animators and the Wētā team being that big —that's how I want to watch this movie.  It's so it's so visually beautiful, it's so incredible that it deserves that. And [composer] John Paesano’s score is so cool to hear. They had like 90 different types of drums that they used. To hear every instrument in that soundtrack is going to be insane. So, go to an IMAX theatre if you can! 6. With such a unique project, you must have made some pretty unique memories. Any favorite anecdotes from filming you can share with IMAX fans?  Oh, so many. One of the things that made me happiest over the course of filming was when [director] Wes [Ball] would get in there with us. He’s kind of a little kid when he's directing, which is the best thing to have in a director because he's just so passionate and you can tell how much he loves it. Sometimes he'd be like, "you know what, I have an idea.” He’d come in and I would act opposite him. The camera would be on me, but he would be my scene partner for action scenes. There’s one scene where Noa’s being threatened by one of the bad guys with a weapon, and he’s threatening me with it and Wes was like, “no, I want it in his face. I want it in Noa’s face. I want to shake him a little bit. Just let me do it.” Ryan [Weisen], our camera operator is there with the camera. This is all in the performance capture volume [Ed note — the “volume” is the space where a mo cap performance is filmed]. Wes is not in the movie, but the performance that I'm pretty sure is in the film is me reacting to Wes with one of these prop weapons. Just coming after me. It was one of the most fun moments on set of the entire shoot.  I watched the footage afterwards-- because it’s volume, they have cameras on everybody, so there is footage somewhere out there of Wes just going after me. You could see how much fun he's having. And because of that my performance is real, but I'm also enjoying it. I think you get the best stuff when you're just really kind of playing, you know. Even a serious moment, even if it's high tension. It should be fun. 7. If there was a movie you could experience for the first time again in IMAX, what would it be?  That's really hard. I’ve always wanted to see LORD OF THE RINGS on it. That would be amazing to see those films. INSTERSTELLAR. That I would see again in IMAX. That was cool. That was awesome. I love a big screen.  This interview was transcribed from a Zoom conversation. It has been edited for clarity and length. Experience [KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES in IMAX](, now playing   Enter to win a chance to visit Wētā Workshop in New Zealand. Sweepstakes is sponsored by Fandango Media, LLC. No purchase necessary. Entry period begins 9:00am PT 4/1/24 and closes 11:59pm PT 5/26/24. Open to legal residents of the U.S. at least 18 years or older. Limit of one entry per person. Tickets and more details in the Official Rules. 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