He plays War For The Planet Of The Apes' most adorable character.
We catch up with the great Steve Zahn for a chat…
Mild spoilers for War For The Planet Of The Apes lie ahead.
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What an awesome character Bad Ape is, first of all.
I was just floored by this movie, the first time I saw it.
Im so proud to be a part of it.
I read in the production notes that you had a lot of input into how you built the character.
Well, the character was brilliant on the page.
I was extremely excited.
And the only time you could bring really good stuff to characters is if theyre already written well.
Its hard to take a character thats two-dimensional…
I mean, what do you do?
Then youre inducing things into it.
But something thats already really finely defined thats a little easier, especially when you start [filming].
Would you do something different here?
Ehh, I dont know.
I think hed just sit here.
[acts out the character], or, you know, Uhh, excuse me!
[Laughs]
And Bad Apes so important to the film because of the direction Caesar goes in.
Yeah, hes the audience member, isnt he?
Going on the journey with them.
Oh my God, yeah.
I texted him last night.
Hes responsible for so much of that.
I mean, Terry and Andy.
Terrys kind of the coach, with all the stunt guys and everything.
Were always checking with Terry.
And hed be, No.
Heres what youre doing wrong.
He was incredible to work with.
My first two weeks with him…
I kind of missed the ape camp, which Im glad about, in a way.
Did you have the conversation about how an ape might ride a horse?
It was deeper than that.
And that why it was good.
We werent preoccupied with those things.
You had to embody it so that it was second nature.
You train to the point where you just know it.
When I look over here, an ape uses its whole body.
You have to get to the point where youre, I got it.
Which is a long process.
And then you talk and all of a sudden you dont do it.
It usually comes with me working with them.
I mean, youre working with Andy Serkis, whos got it down, trust me.
And when youre working with someone brilliant like that, it rubs off and it gets easy.
Does that makes sense?
No, no, it does.
Thats interesting, because thats basically what Terry was telling us.
Its like, we posture all the time.
Whenever were doing anything, we posture, we hold ourselves in.
Simians, their stomach sticks out.
Well, I can identify with that.
But theyre not lazy theyre extremely strong, so it kind of contradicts itself in our own brain.
Theres a lot going on.
Its just so complicated.
But to get to the point where you’ve got the option to embody that is fun.
Its what scared me about the job.
When I got into this and started sitting with Terry, it was like, Breathe deep.
I realised it was different.
I really have to go to work.
Youve got to be good in that first minute.
I couldnt even talk.
Theres something a beautiful about the guy.
I knew I could play that.
I didnt concentrate on the chimp, I concentrated on solitude.
Going against every instinct to be around others.
Did you draw a little bit onRescue Dawn,I wonder?
[Laughs]
Because there are one or two parallels there.
Id never really thought of that.
But yeah, there is.
Theres a vulnerability to both these guys, that you just care about them in a way.
I love playing weak, vulnerable, accessible characters.
I would feel ridiculous playing the guy who saves the fuckin day with my right arm.
Its not really me at all.
Nor is that interesting at all to me.
Thats what makes this film interesting, is that it isnt about heroes and villains in any case.
Everyone has a lot of faults.
And what makes it a great movies is that you know that, and you understand that.
This is one-oh-one, man.
This is 101 filmmaking.
If you’ve got the option to show it, dont write it.
Theres so much said without any words.
This thing moves so well, from Maurice coming out, I cant leave the girl.
Shes like, Thirsty, and Caesars like, Oh fuck.
[Laughs]
I said this earlier I just thought of this.
But thats the genius of Matt [Reeves].
We should have a scene where Caesar says, Okay, come along.'
But there never was that scene.
We didnt shoot that scene.
If you shot that scene, youd know its gonna be on the cutting room floor.
But if you shot that, theres an intention for that to be in the movie.
If you take it away, it doesnt work as well.
Because of the way were playing it.
But if you dont shoot that, we play it differently.
Thats Matt, right?
Thats guts, to do that.
I mean, there are four-minute scenes between two characters talking.
Its like youre watching Richard III!
Its like youre at the theatre!
Its simply shot, like Caesar and the Colonel, but it works so well.
I love that scene, man.
The first scene with me that goes on forever, when were next to the fire.
Im like, Were six minutes into meeting me and were still, you know, talking!
But its so good!
And thats why you feel something.
Thats why you cry, man.
I cried during this, like, fuckin six times!
And why dont you cry when youre watching some big-budgeted Marvel thing?
Because they dont look like anything human.
All they do is string together a bunch of moments from other movies that they think reflect a human.
They put them together and they hope that you feel something.
They hold you hostage, sometimes, summer movies.
Yeah, they do.
And when they show the characters, like Now were going to introduce the characters!
Ive been in stuff like this, where they like, go to the office for like 14 seconds.
If you time it, youd be like [makes the click of a stopwatch.]
Hey Charlie, youre eating another donut.
Well, whatever, fuck it.
Then Im like, Okay, Im the guy who eats donuts.
Youre the bad guy, and youre the bad guy.
This bad guy [Woody Harrelsons Colonel]?
I totally get it.
You actually sympathise with this motherfucker.
The people, all those audiences, are brilliant.
Theyre smart, man.
And they know when theyre being jacked off.
What are your memories of working with him?
There are some movies where you dont remember one day.
He was just a brilliant dude.
Wed be like, Does he know what hes doing?
I dont think he knows what hes doing.
Then the next day, its like, Yeah, he knows what hes doing, man.
One day, he comes in and a butterfly goes past and he was just off.
We were like, There he goes.
The movies now about a butterfly.
Whatever, you know?
And its minimal shooting.
Not a lot of coverage.
He shoots in an unorthodox way.
He uses real locations, which reminds me a bit of this film.
Yeah, itwaslike that, and I really enjoy that.
I dont even watch my own stuff sometimes.
I just get bored, man.
Id rather go fish or something, you know?
Id rather sit out back and have a bourbon or feed my horses.
I like being in the circus, I love going to locations.
If this was all green screen, this would suck!
Oh God, yeah.
In this movie, if you see a river, its a real river.
If it looks painful, it was painful.
If it looks cold, it was fucking cold.
We were really on horseback.
You know, it was incredible to do something that was so technically credible.
Motion capture is brilliant.
But you know why its brilliant?
Because it doesnt get in the way.
Because its made so you’ve got the option to do whatever you feel like doing.
And Weta is so nurturing.
Theyre like, How can we make you comfortable?
Theyre so concerned about being in the way.
Which is so great.
Theres no ego there.
Theyre so confident, they dont need that.
Its in post, man when you watch it, youre like Wow.
But you do it, man.
Some people will say, back home, Oh, you were in Planet Of The Apes?
Thats awesome, man.
That was all CGI, werent it?
You mean, you think I just did the voice-over?
For some reason, its not the same kind of gig all of a sudden.
Hes a fuckinggreatactor, man.
If he dont get an Oscar for this performance of Caesar, I dunno.
I mean, seriously.
I think its one for the ages, man.
You must get offered a lot of roles, but the ones you do take on are really varied.
What tends to attract you to a project?
Its story for me, and character.
I dont care about the medium Im doing a TV show next.
Its a great script, so cool.
Small town, bodies wash up, some are dead, some are alive.
Why are they here?
Theyre seeking political asylum.
They travel through time, and they arrive under water, where most of them drown.
Its calledThe Crossing.So I read that, and I thought, Whos doing this?
I just get attracted to that story.
I think writers have gone to TV and theyve been given power, and we react to it.
Weve been to watch these shows that they would never have done before.
And now everyones competing to be more inventive and imaginative and raw and funny in a different way.
Its such a great thing.
I think were getting some quality stuff.
The people in charge are facilitating artists to do their thing, you know?
Everyones kind of understanding their role.
Thats when it works best when everyone works together.
Again, make it be about character.
Tell a story thats interesting.
Dont cover a scene in six sizes.
Keep it in a two-shot.
Look atAll The Presidents Men!
Theres not a close-up in that movie!
And if there is, theres a point to it.
Its all in the way we make them.
Steve Zahn, thank you very much.
War For The Planet Of The Apesis out in UK cinemas on the 11th July.
