Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes villain star teases what to expect from the franchise's new "narcissistic" antagonist
Apr. 17, 2024Exclusive | Kevin Durand opens up about his morally complex “baddie” Proximus Caesar
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesis set to introduce a bunch of new characters to the long-running franchise, from Owen Teague’s primate protagonist Noa toFreya Allan’s human Mae. It’ll also welcome a new villain, too: Kevin Durand’s Proximus Caesar.
Though Durand is hesitant for people to describe him in such black-and-white terms. “He’s the baddie,” he tellsGamesRadar+, with a grin that suggests he feels pretty protective over the series' simian addition. “But it’s coming down to, you know, homosapiens or apes and obviously he’s on the side of the apes, so he’s willing to do whatever needs to happen, by any means necessary, to ensure a future for apekind.
“From the perspective of the narrative, he’s definitely the baddie but yeah, when you watch the movie, you’re like, ‘Well, was he really that bad?'” Durand continues fondly. “I mean, he’s definitely narcissistic, but, you know, he’s just trying to ensure that his kind will go on.”
“It was incredible,” Durand gushes, when we ask what it was like to get stuck in with the motion capture. “I mean, every movement, every expression came from the performance but they just have this wizardry going on over at Weta in New Zealand where they can really trick the human eye into seeing what they want you to see. It’s pretty phenomenal to get to be a part of that, it was definitely a great highlight in my career.”
Before we, well, hear him as Proximus Caesar, Durand will be seen on screen as ‘Peter’ in Abigail, a new horror-comedy from Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Also starring Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Melissa Barrera, and Matilda’s Alisha Weir in the titular role, it follows a ragtag team of kidnappers whose seemingly uncomplicated ransom mission turns into a bloodsoaked fight for survival, when they realize that their hostage, Abigail, is a vampire… and a ballet-dancing one at that.
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I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.
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