You might not get a chance to see their faces on screen, but they’re the real stars of the film.
War of the Planet of the Apes presents a very interesting issue that most other movies don’t encounter. That issue is who plays who? With a large majority of the cast being apes, it’s hard to tell who is who and to properly give credit where credit is due. If you haven’t seen the film yet, just as in previous films, the performances throughout are phenomenal. The actors who bring these wonderful creatures to life will sadly never receive the full recognition for their awesome jobs. However, we got to meet some of the key apes of the film and got to talk with them about their roles, filming, and working with the legendary Andy Serkis on the Red Carpet of the New York Premiere of the film presented by Alamo Drafthouse at SVA. We got to hear about the hijinks that happened off camera, the opportunity of a lifetime that working with Matt Reeves is, and how amazing it is to be part of such a franchise. We also got a chance to speak with Amiah Miller, who plays a young human girl in the film. She’s a fast rising star who gave a stellar performance. Be sure to check out our interviews with them below in video as well as in text.
Aleks Paunovic (Winter):
Winter played a very interesting role in this film in terms of how he impacted the fight. What did think about his character.
Aleks: I loved the complexity of Winter in this film … It’s not really a moral or ethical background, it’s more of a reaction. I love the aspect that I got to play which is an albino silverback, like, how cool is that? That to me, what he has to go through, was something very challenging but I really appreciate Matt Reeves giving me the opportunity.
How was playing against Andy Serkis?
Aleks: Andy is a consummate professional and extremely gentle and nurturing. When we were talking about the scene, we really wanted to get it right. When we were in the scene he gave me so much as Winter and Caesar. He’s done this before, it’s not his first rodeo.
Andy is the king of motion capture acting.
Aleks: He’s the king! We were about to do the scene and I had to take a second. I had to walk and compose myself and say “This is the king! Get your sh*t together!” You know?
Did he offer advice as to how you should play the role?
Aleks: He just led by example. If you were someone that just wanted to get the job right, and he’s the king, you just watch and you learn. He let you be as creative as possible, he didn’t pigeon hole you.
What are some of the difficulties of playing a character that doesn’t speak english.
Aleks: That’s an interesting thing. You get all your emotionality and language across in the sign language aspect of it, so it was difficult. It was something that I really took the bull by the horns and told the story.
Amiah (Nova)
Your character plays a girl that can’t talk. What are some of the difficulties with that?
It was definitely a challenge at first but I’ve always been told that I’m very expressive so I was just reacting as how I’d react if I was in that situation. Without words.
You’re a little girl when a bunch of apes walk into the room. How would you react in that situation in that situation if that was you?
I mean Nova was pretty brave cause I would’ve screamed! Can you imagine apes barging into your house, holding guns and staring at you? It’s pretty scary!
How was working with Matt Reeves?
He’s so talented and I cannot express to anybody how much love and respect I have for him and he knows what he wants and he’s so open to if you weren’t comfortable with something or if you felt something shouldn’t have happened that way, he was open to it. He made sure everyone liked where the scene was going. I’m just so fortunate that I got to work with someone like him.
What was it like being a part of a big budget action film? Was it difficult?
It was hectic. At some points it was calm and easy going but I learned so much in this experience and this literally changed me forever and I’m so glad I had this opportunity.
Do you have any interesting movies coming up?
Later this month I am going to Wyoming to film a new movie.
Chad Rook (Boyle)
Tell me a bit about your character.
I play Boyle, one of the Colonel’s right hand men. So basically, when things need to get done, I do it but I do it in a very aggressive manner.
What were some conflicting emotions playing that character?
I think the conflict is that I’m an animal lover and my character is just the exact opposite. He wants anything but the apes to survive and to succeed.
How was working with Woody?
It’s Woody on set. He’s exactly who you think Woody Harrelson is and the second that action yells, he’s in a serious mode and he’s the colonel now. I mean he’s one of the biggest stars out there and there’s a reason for it.
A lot of your scenes were with apes, or people doing motion capture. What were some of the difficulties with that?
A lot of people don’t realize with the motion capture is that you’re not filming together. We film those separately. We did one take as a reference, then we did one take on our own. So when we come to these premieres, it’s the first time we get to see this interacting together.
What was your favorite scene to shoot?
I have a scene in the film with Terry Notary where he and I are kind of squaring off one on one. It’s almost like a old Western showdown. That would definitely be my favorite. One on one. Ape versus Human.
Max Lloyd-Jones (Blue Eyes)
Tell me a bit about your character.
I play Blue Eyes, Caesar’s oldest son. You can recognize him from the second film where he gets attacked by a bear. We see him a little bit older. We see him at the beginning of what is to become a war between the humans and the apes. We see him approaching what may be a leadership position in the tribe.
The character has a lot of conflicting emotions. What are some of the difficulties of portraying that, considering motion capture?
There was a lot of layers to it, especially because I did to play the character in the second film. So I watched those films, especially the second film extensively to understand how that actor took on the character cause it was his creation and I wanted to honor that as well as bring my own interpretation as well as understand what it’s like to age an ape and he comes back from this long journey at the beginning of the film. There’s a lot of backstory I have to walk in to.
You played off of Andy Serkis in a lot of your scenes. How was working with him?
It was a blessing. I grew up making Gollum imitations as a child. I’m so incredibly lucky. He’s a legend of his craft. He’ll be remembered forever for what he does. He’s literally created this new medium of art. I think this is one of the stories I’ll tell my grandkids, for sure! If I get there.
How was working with Matt Reeves?
Working with Matt was great! He’s always really updated, really creative, very efficient. I can’t wait to see where his career is going I think we’ve all read it in the news. I’m so glad to have worked with him and I’d love to do it again.
Were there any funny moments on set?
Yes! I didn’t even think about it, but there’s a moment where we’re doing a gathering of all the apes and we all had to squat for about an hour and a half for the whole thing and because there are cameras everywhere you can’t take a break, you’re always on camera and Andy got a box to sit on and the rest of us had to squat considering the land and cause he’s more important, obviously. Kidding. So we’re there for like an hour and a half waiting and our legs are shaking and he’s just going “Oh my god, I gotta be finished with this, I got to go back to my trailer.” Funny guy, really entertaining, always warm on set. Tons of good times.
Andy Serkis (Caesar)
How happy are you with the result of this and how much do you feel for Caesar?
Listen, I’ve had an amazing time playing this character over the course of three movies. It’s been one of the most joyous characters I’ve ever played in my life because I’ve played him all the way through from infancy all the way through his life to late maturity. It’s so rare for an actor to get that opportunity in movies, in three movies, which are great entertainment, highly intelligent and to be directed by Rupert in the first one and Matt in the second two is just brilliant story telling. The arc of Caesar’s journey has been extraordinary and also it’s not just seeing this character grow and age and become a father and become a leader but he’s also evolving all the time. So underlying that whole thing is a sense that the character is going from pure chimpanzee evolving through to almost being a human. The irony of this film is that as he’s about to become more human like he suffers such personal loss that the base instincts in him become the most animal and that’s the contradiction in the character. Not only is this the war for the planet of the apes but also the war for Caesar’s own soul.
The film hits theaters this Friday!
