Filmmaker Tim Burton is known for his gothic aesthetics and choosing to tell stories of weird characters. The filmmaker has put his stamp on blockbusters such as Batman as well as more personal stories such as Big Fish. He will be returning to one of his most beloved franchises with the Michael Keaton starrer Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
One movie in his filmography that stands out from the rest is his 2001 revival of Planet of the Apes. The project served as a remake of the 1968 classic sci-fi film, and starred Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, and more. The film was not received well upon release and is often considered to be a subpar remake of the original. Actor Paul Giamatti, who played Limbo, spoke about his experience while shooting the film.
Paul Giamatti Has A Theory On Why Tim Burton Cast Him As Limbo
Tim Burton hopped onto the remake of Planet of the Apes after the studio tried to revive the project from the ‘80s. The film was reportedly first conceived as an alternate sequel to the original 1968 film but was then reworked after new executives came on board. Many filmmakers such as Oliver Stone, Peter Jackson, and James Cameron were in discussions before Burton took over.
When Burton was signed onto the project, the studio had reportedly already announced a release date and was rushing things. The Batman filmmaker cast Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, and Paul Giamatti in the lead roles. Giamatti, who played Rhino in the Marvel film The Amazing Spider-Man 2, was reportedly cast in the role of Limbo without an audition.
In an interview with GQ, Giamatti revealed that he was offered the role of Limbo, the human slave trader by Burton. He joked,
“I was obsessed with the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movies as a kid. And so the notion that I could be in one of those was mind-blowing to me. I didn’t audition for that. Tim Burton came to me with that, ’cause I guess he was like, ‘You look like a monkey, so I’ll have you do this.’ It was one of the funnest things I’ve ever done. And working with Rick Baker was amazing.”
Giamatti went on to say that he was extremely comfortable on the sets of the film and did not feel like it was a blockbuster. The film was commercially successful and earned $362 million at the box office, but it was not received well by fans and critics.
Paul Giamatti Threatened His Agents When They Persuaded Him To Not Join The Film
Paul Giamatti has had a long and successful career as a character actor in the industry. He was recently nominated for an Oscar for his role as a strict teacher in The Holdovers. He is known for films such as Sideways, Man on the Moon, Saving Private Ryan, and more. The actor has had a three-decade career in the industry and has been utterly prolific.
Though Limbo, the human slave trading Orangutan in Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes is one of his more forgettable characters, Giamatti mentioned that he would be up for a sequel of the film back when it was released. In an interview with IGN, the Marvel star mentioned that he would be interested in returning to the franchise if they set the film on Earth. He said,
“I’d totally do it. What would be nice is if they preserve the idea of doing it back on earth now. I think it’d be great to have apes driving cars, smoking cigars, wearing glasses, sitting in a board room, stuff like that.”
Giamatti was also reportedly very excited to join the Planet of the Apes remake as he was a huge fan of the original. The actor mentioned that while he was excited at the prospect of being a monkey, his agents tried to persuade him to be one of the humans. The actor joked that he threatened to fire them if they tried to get him to play a human. He said to GQ,
“I was covered head to toe, shoulders in a fat suit, and my feet. My agents were like, ‘Don’t you think you should play a human so they can see your face?’ And I was like, ‘If you tell them I wanna play a human in this, I’ll f***ing kill you all.’ I was like, ‘I’m gonna play an ape.'”
Despite his enthusiasm for the role and overall enjoyment on set, Giamatti mentioned to IGN that he was not keen on spending hours putting on makeup and that he was not a fan of the process.
Planet of the Apes is streaming on Hulu.
