Caesar has found his love interest. Or, at the very least, Matt Reeves has found an actress to play the love interest in his upcoming Dawn of the planet of the Apes.
Judy Greer, who audiences best know from Arrested Development episodes and supporting parts in movies like The Descendants or 13 Going on 30, has landed the coveted ape role of Cornelia in Reeves’ sequel, Vulture reports. The character actress will don a motion-capture suit to act opposite her one-time 13 Going on 30 co-star Andy Serkis, who encouraged her to lobby hard for the part.
What you might not know is how important the Apes franchise is to both Greer and her husband, who apparently is a dedicated fan.
“I married a man who … I'm gonna use the word obsessed. He is obsessed with Planet of the Apes," Greer told the site. "We had a chimp husband-and-wife cake topper at our wedding. At the cocktail hour, we played Planet of the Apes and Rise of the Planet of the Apes on two separate televisions in the bar area. And on the wedding gift I bought him, a vintage Rolex, I had it engraved, 'Ape shall not kill ape.' I was then told that, technically, it's 'Ape shall never kill ape,' but there wasn't enough space for engraving purposes.”
So Greer isn’t as odd of a choice as you might initially assume. Because yes, if you were to asked me to run through 50 names I thought would land a part in the Apes sequel, I’m not sure I would have arrived at Greer. But she’s a talented actress who seems to have a deep appreciation for the work done on the franchise, and that kind of passion could be vital for the sequel.
Greer and Serkis will join a number of actors already cast as humans in Dawn, including Jason Clarke, Keri Russell and Gary Oldman. From what we know so far, the movie will take place a short time after Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with Bay Area scientists trying to deal with the aftermath of the ape experiments, and Caesar trying to maintain control over his growing ape population. The sequel is targeting a May 23, 2014 release date, so Reeves better get stepping.
