What Maurice From Planet Of The Apes Looks Like In Real Life

If there's one ape as wise as Caesar in the Andy Serkis-led Planet of the Apes trilogy, it's his chestnut-colored consigliere, Maurice. Crossing paths with the super-smart primate in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Maurice is the stoic orangutan on a similar wavelength after learning sign language at the circus. He ends up in captivity alongside the ape that changed the world, playing an essential part in the entire Planet of the Apes timeline. He's even present for Caesar's final moments during the ending of "War of the Planet of the Apes." It should stand as a testament to the trilogy's incredible motion capture performances that longtime actor Karin Konoval is responsible for the male orangutan's looming but loveable presence.

Maurice, Serkis' Caesar, and Terry Notary's bald ape Rocket make up the trilogy's top three apes. However, this trifecta of talent almost didn't happen, as Konoval revealed to Vulture that she initially didn't take the gig seriously. "It struck me as a bit of a joke, but I went anyway. I didn't even know what an orangutan was!" she admitted. "So I went to the library a block away and pulled out a picture book, and something just happened in the first moment that I looked at the face of this orangutan where I was completely struck and intrigued."

Maurice is one of the quietest characters in the rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy, but Karin Konoval displays a tremendous volume of character in how she carries herself during her heartfelt performances. To capture that magic, She revealed that she had a one-to-one with a real orangutan, who became the missing link to finding Maurice. Speaking to Vancouver Is Awesome, Konoval revealed that she crossed paths with Towan, a 41-year-old orangutan living at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

The meeting became life-changing, as Towan paid surprisingly close attention to Konoval when she visited him. "He literally came right up, and his face was two inches from mine on the other side of the window." The actor explained that the orangutan looked at her thoroughly "inside-out, and I just basically let myself be studied, and everything came into focus in those 20 minutes. It sounds kind of simplistic, but that's exactly where Maurice began." Sadly, Towan died later at 48, but his presence unknowingly fuelled an iconic performance. "He was searching me clean, and in being searched clean, he gave me Maurice."

To read more about the iconic sci-fi franchise, check out every Planet of the Apes movie ranked from worst to best.