When it came to realising the simian threat at the heart of its horror, Primate went old-school. With an eye on the tangible make-up and prosthetic horror of ‘80s classics, director and co-writer Johannes Roberts was determined to make the threat of a rabid ape as physical as possible. He found the perfect performer in Miguel Torres Umba, the man behind Ben the chimpanzee.
Primate is a physical, visceral rollercoaster ride that draws on classic horror while playing with expectations. Its central setpiece, where a group of survivors are trapped in a cliff-top infinity pool stalked by the insensible killer driven crazy by the sight of water, is a brilliant inversion of Jaws after all. But at its centre is Ben’s journey from beloved family member to savage killer, a transformation that hinges on Torres Umba’s incredible performance.
FILMHOUNDS spoke to the performer (as well as other cast and crew) about his astonishing screen debut, what it took to sustain the adrenaline during the scenes of quiet menace that break up rampaging violence, and how he was influenced by the great legacy of primates on screen.
I understand this is the first time you’ve taken on this kind of role on film. How did you get involved?
Well, it is the first time I’ve done a studio film. It is, however, not the first time I’ve done a physically demanding role like this or in a complex suit. I trained as a physical actor, a mime, and in acting. Over my career, I have done a lot of physical theatre, and I also work for Gecko Theatre, which is a renowned theatre company in the UK, known for emotional ability mixed up with dance and movement. It’s all my background; it’s in there. So, it’s new to do a studio film, but it’s not new to do a complex character or something physically demanding as such. In fact, last night I was performing an hour-and-a-half show that was non-stop. We just go from beginning to the end on stage, full of adrenaline, and it’s very intense. It’s part of my DNA, so to speak: it’s where I come from, it’s part of what I do.
I ended up doing the film precisely because of my background. I think when they were casting for the right person, they cast their net wide. Alex Reynolds, the movement director, used her contacts in dance and physical theatre to look out for the right person with the right proportions, history and background. That’s when her assistant Joss Carter went, “Oh, Miguel is the right person. I know he’s a trained artist, a trained actor, a trained mime. I know he works with Gecko and has the right ability.” And he called me, and said, “Can you come in, there’s going to be movement…” He didn’t say exactly what it was because he couldn’t, but it happens that I’ve also done a lot of chimpanzee and monkey work over the years in street theatre. So it’s stuff that I had in me before. I had history as an actor, as a physically trained performer, but also having done a number of roles in the past where I’ve done this type of work.
That DNA meant when I walked into the casting room, I was able to do exactly what I like. I was able to jump in there and give them exactly what they wanted—find any options I could to hang in the room, and I did: I found a bar, and I jumped on it, so that’s how I got in there.
You talk about the adrenaline that you have in other roles, like last night on stage. How does that transfer onto a film set? Naturally, it’s a slower process, so how did you manage to keep that going?
Yes, I think for me it was always trying to play with the character as much as possible; to use every opportunity to be in character. Obviously, theatre’s different as you just said. We’re rehearsing a lot, we’re prepping on the set, putting the costume and everything on. For me, it was very much a) doing the preparation beforehand and b) just always being ready to play. I did that in rehearsals, in costume fittings, and even from the audition. I didn’t miss an opportunity to be in character, to discover something new about Ben, and also to interact with the execs or the crew. Because the more they believed me in the room, I knew it was going to translate to the camera. So I was always just keeping the game going whenever possible.
A central part of the film is Ben moving from that loved family member—with quite a few scenes crucially establishing that—into that real threat. With Johannes [Roberts], you have a director who’s very experienced in the genre, so how did you work together in developing that horror in the role, and how did that work with your previous experience?
I think Johannes was happily surprised by the amount I was bringing to the room. He allowed me to play more and more. He would sometimes set things in the room to see what I came up with and where I ended up going. That worked really well. It could have easily been a mindless creature. I still wanted to infuse him with personality and that kind of play that he has.
Trying to hold on to the heart of Ben, knowing that he was a beloved character, was really important. I think Johannes allowed that and really made the most out of that by pointing the camera and allowing me to play. There were quite a few scenes where I was doing probably what an actor, more than just a physical actor, would do. I was just playing the scene, and he let that roll, which pays off as you start seeing a character that’s much more developed than a mindless creature.
It’s a fantastic set. The outside of the house was real, but the inside was a constructed set, with incredible verticality—the swimming pool, the cliff edge and the staircase that are really made for an out-of-control chimpanzee. How were you involved in the design and making the most of that? You mentioned you were grabbing bars from the audition process—did that inform the set construction?
Some of that, yes. I was able to meet Simon [Bowles], the production designer, right at the start. In fact, I was in the studio just as they were starting to build the set because I was also prepping for the character. So we were able to come and talk to him about practical things that we needed as much as what’s going to work for the camera and what’s going to work for what’s planned in the scene. Also what would I need in terms of being able to perform, to be safe as well. It wasn’t just me; it was also Paul Herbert, the stunt coordinator. We collaborated to tell Simon where we needed more width, places where we can hold, and where we can hang—just trying to find a lot of elements we can play with. A lot of that was also when we started rolling. Things came up and it was like, “Okay, that’s got to stay because we need continuity.” So that was fun.
One of the most startling parts of the film is the physical approach to creating Ben. It’s really uncanny, and there are moments of quiet contemplation as well as the attacks, which are a real justification of that physical choice. How did that work on set?
The Millennium FX team is fantastic. I think they’re the best in the world for that kind of character. Neill [Gorton] and Kate [Walshe] have been doing chimpanzees and apes for a while, so they know it really well. What they’ve developed with animatronics is fantastic. The costume was made to my measurements, so everything fitted me perfectly.
That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t painful; it was painful. The mask is quite heavy; my nose had a lot of bruising. It was very claustrophobic inside the mask, so my senses were overloaded with things like the noise! But at the same time, my senses were constrained. I couldn’t see much, I couldn’t hear. I needed to have in-ear monitors in order to hear feedback from Johannes. If I sweat I’m not transpiring, so all the heat is in the body.
It was physically and mentally challenging. It required me to be quite calm because the heat would rise very quickly. Sometimes Johannes would go, “Just go crazy!” And I’m like, “What does go crazy mean?” And “Go crazy” means I’m going to burn so much energy because I’m squatting.
Again, it’s practical. We’re not using CGI to help with the proportions. We’re sometimes using extensions, but sometimes we didn’t like the extensions because they lost the quality of the arms. So it meant that I really had to be a lot lower on my legs. You can imagine the muscles in my legs burning! So physically it was just so intense; mentally, my senses were overloaded and stopped at the same time. It just meant I needed to be mentally ready to hold all of that in the background while also choosing the right movement. We aim, where he’s contemplative, to really stay with the emotion of the character. But obviously it is what it is—they needed moments where it needed to be big and energetic and furious. Going for those was very, very tough. We worked on ways of doing it, but it definitely was a big challenge.
The challenge of mixing those bits of action and quiet must have been incredible, given those constraints, but also knowing it’s central to the film. The pool sequence is like a shark movie with Ben’s presence moving around, but are there other moments that you’re particularly proud of—that come on screen and you’re like, “Wow, that really paid off!”?
Yes, being careful not to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, there’s a scene with Johnny [Sequoyah] and the sofa that we build up to. In fact, it’s shown in the trailer, the scene with the hand. I’m very happy with it because we worked with Johnny from the beginning of the film to create that trust that gets broken a couple of times during the film. I think that was a really awesome scene. Sure, it’s physical, but we both felt like two happy actors at the end, going, “We got a good scene.”
The same thing with Charlie [Mann]—one of the big scenes in the bedroom, that scene was amazing. We were both very committed, and it came out really well. He was very scared. It is scary for them because I’m there with this full chimpanzee costume, drooling. Blood is actually falling in their face for real because they fill me up with blood and it just falls. So when I’m playing the scene with him, it’s got to be really scary. He’d reached a really beautiful point in terms of his performance, and I was able to give it all as well. So we were both there for each other when we were doing the shot.
I think those two were really fun because we were able to infuse some personality. Ben was being very playful. And I love that; I love being able to throw that in there. So those two scenes are very special.
They stand out, and it’s always lovely to scare your fellow actors when you put that effort in!
It wasn’t difficult! Just imagine for a moment you’ve got this 5’9” man in a costume. I’m literally there pounding—obviously not hitting them for real—being on them… It’s got to be scary. Especially, the moment some of that fell in the ears and eyes… It was fun amongst us, we were having a great time, but definitely, a lot of the scares were very genuine.
Lastly, there’s a tremendous tradition of apes in cinema, in particular the recently resurgent Planet of the Apes and King Kong. How were you inspired by those? Were there elements you were reacting against or that you wanted to bring to the screen for a natural horror like Primate?
Yes, for sure. I’ve been looking at the work of Terry Notary and Andy Serkis, and people who have been doing this for years. I’ve watched all the Planet of the Apes films to see what worked. Obviously, I knew that my challenge was very different because it was very practical, so it was very much like 2001: A Space Odyssey.
In the early Planet of the Apes, you can see some of the actors who really get the physicality right and some that you go, “Hmm, okay, this is lacking” or, “I think I can bring some more of this.” So, I think both: I was very inspired by the work, but also going, “Okay, I need to try to make it as real as possible.” It all hinges on whether the character is believable or not, so I really needed to infuse this with a lot more technicality. I spent a lot of time breaking down the movement in detail along with Alex, the movement director and coach. We were really going, “Okay, let’s just bring personality to it.”
One hundred percent watching and taking a lot from people I really admire, but also watching chimpanzees for real. Loads of documentaries, going to the zoo to see them. We really tried to connect and go, “Okay, these are people.” These are creatures, beings that are sentient and there emotionally. I think it’s good that I’m in there as a person having those emotions because it reads through the mask and into the audience as well.
Primate is in cinemas now.
