TORONTO 鈥� Kevin Durand has a simple explanation for why he always gets cast as the bad guy.
鈥淛ust look at my face,鈥� the actor says during an interview at a Toronto hotel. 鈥淧eople see me and they鈥檙e like, 鈥楢hh!鈥欌��
The Thunder Bay, Ont., native has a countenance that tells a story and a resume teeming with villainous characters, including a psychotic neo-Nazi in 2006鈥檚 鈥淪mokin鈥� Aces,鈥� a trigger-happy cop in 2013鈥檚 鈥淔ruitvale Station鈥� and a possessed war captain in Netflix鈥檚 2020 series 鈥淟ocke & Key.鈥�
His latest detestable turn is as a bad ape 鈥� the tyrannical simian king Proximus Caesar in Wes Ball鈥檚 鈥淜ingdom of the Planet of the Apes,鈥� which opens Friday. It鈥檚 the latest instalment in the 鈥淧lanet of the Apes鈥� franchise.
Being typecast as an antagonist suits the 50-year-old well. He鈥檚 always gravitated toward sinister roles, dating back to his early days as a Shakespeare-obsessed aspiring actor.
鈥淚 only wanted to play the bastards. I didn't want to play Hamlet or Romeo. I wanted to be Iago. I wanted to be Petruchio,鈥� he says.
鈥淭here's something interesting about stepping outside yourself. I spend my whole day being a nice Canadian boy from Thunder Bay. And then all of a sudden, I have licence to just lean in and be evil? Awesome. That's therapy.鈥�
Set several generations after 2017鈥檚 鈥淲ar for the Planet of the Apes鈥� 鈥� in which leader Caesar dies while ensuring freedom for his fellow anthropoids 鈥� 鈥淜ingdom鈥� takes place in a world where apes are the dominant species. Young chimp Noa, played by Owen Teague, lives peacefully among his tribe until their village is raided by Proximus Caesar鈥檚 army. Joined by a mysterious human and sage orangutan, played by Freya Allan and Peter Macon, Noa embarks on a journey to rescue his kidnapped friends and family.
Durand says on its surface, the film is a 鈥淔riday night popcorn movie,鈥� but if you choose to delve deeper, it鈥檚 鈥渁 reflection of ourselves as humans and what we're doing to the world and what we're doing to each other.鈥�
Like its predecessors, 鈥淜ingdom鈥� uses motion-capture technology to bring the simian characters to life. Durand spent six weeks in 鈥渁pe school鈥� studying under movement coach Alain Gauthier, a former Cirque du Soleil performer, to learn how to stand, move and speak like an ape.
Once he got the movements down, Durand delved into Proximus Caesar鈥檚 motivations. He says his character is rooted in his deep knowledge of human history.
鈥淗e knows the nature of man and he knows he has to do whatever he possibly can to keep a paradigm power shift from happening, because if humans get in control again, there's a good chance his kind will end up in laboratories being experimented on,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 never approached him as a big villain."
Durand says he used to have trouble playing villains because he would often bring his characters鈥� psyches home with him. But that all changed when he became a dad.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥榃ell, people obviously, more often than not, see me as being on the heavy side of the narrative, and I have to feed my baby,鈥欌�� he says.
鈥淪o (I decided) I just have to not bring it home. And God, was that ever liberating, because then I could really just lean in. There are characters I鈥檝e played that hurt me a little bit, but nothing that wasn't repairable.鈥�
The next dastardly role Durand is leaning into will be in the upcoming reboot of 鈥淭he Naked Gun,鈥� which will star Liam Neeson as detective Frank Drebin, originally immortalized by Leslie Nielsen. Durand says he鈥檒l play a 鈥�90s-style villain in the film, currently in production.
Director Akiva Schaffer asked the actor to bleach his hair for the role and is giving him plenty of licence to decide the origins of his character.
鈥淚 gave him eight different accents and (Schaffer) was like, 鈥業 like all of those.鈥� So now I have to record all of them and then have him just sit there and listen and decide which one he wants to go with,鈥� he laughs.
Durand says he鈥檚 a huge fan of Nielsen in the original "Naked Gun" films and that it鈥檚 a 鈥渄ream come true鈥� to dive into the same cinematic universe.
鈥淭he older and more messed up I look, the more people seem to be wanting to give me a shot. It鈥檚 wonderful because I've never felt so good in my life as an actor, as an artist, as a human.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2024.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
