Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes star reveals Andy Serkis' secret role in the new movie

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes actor Owen Teague has revealed how Andy Serkis – who played the iconic character of Caesar in the 2011-2017 rebooted trilogy – passed on the torch to the franchise newcomer. 

In an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+, Teague explained that he had a number of virtual meetings with Serkis before the cameras started to roll. That advice from the veteran performance capture actor helped the 25-year-old embody the spirit of Noa, the ape character he portrays in the upcoming film. 

“To start, I spoke to Andy on Zoom for an hour and a half in my apartment,” reveals Teague. “And then, he ended up meeting with the rest of the cast in ‘ape school’ over Zoom, where he would have conversations with us. He was really, really lovely and generous. He’s somebody that I have looked up to since I was six years old.”

“He passed the torch,” Teague confides in our interview. “Andy helped me feel good about going into this because he's done it for so long. One thing he said was, ‘It’s just acting. Approach it the same way as you would anything else. This is no different. You're putting on a costume of this ape, but you still do all the other work that you normally do.’ That was really good to hear.”

When it comes to being the new face of the blockbuster franchise, Teague admits there’s a ton of pressure on his shoulders. “It's terrifying,” he says with a smile on his face. “But it’s also amazing. It’s totally surreal. I never thought I would be leading a franchise that Andy Serkis previously led. That’s ridiculous to even say because one of the reasons I'm an actor is because I saw Andy doing Kong as a kid.” 

Talking about the stress related to his important new role, Teague adds, “There’s definitely a lot of pressure. Fortunately, I didn't think about while we were actually filming, but now I'm feeling it. I hope he likes it. I hope he feels like we did a good job.” 

During a trailer launch event in Los Angeles attended by GamesRadar+, director Wes