About 2 weeks ago I got a call from my friend Robert Pendergraft (one of the FX artists from HATCHET and the guy who was responsible for Mrs. Permatteo’s glorious face-ripping death). He wanted me to come down to Make Up & Monsters and try on an old costume. As it turns out, Brian Penikas (the FX genius behind too many of your favorite movies to list and the owner of Make Up & Monsters) was involved with a super secret project that involved a photo-shoot recreating the characters from 1968’s PLANET OF THE APES- in full detail and in the original costumes and molds worn by the cast.

Yeah, I know- RIGHT?

So the next thing I know I am trying on the original DR. ZAIUS costume worn by Maurice Evans 40 years ago… and it fit! Kinda surreal. Actually, to fully let my geek banner fly- it was fucking AMAZING!

Yesterday was the photo-shoot for FOX. Including short breaks for snacks (and for me to roll an obscene amount of business calls concerning other projects)- I was in the make-up chair for close to 5 hours before I was actually posing on the set…

(Gotta love the Chucks, right? What? Dr. Zaius didn’t wear Converse?)

A huge thanks to FOX and to Brian, Rob, and Sonny from Make Up & Monsters for taking such good care of me and doing such an incredible job. And a HUGE extra bit of thanks to Rob for thinking of me for this and letting me come and play.

It’s funny, but in the midst of what has been an extremely hectic week dealing with the trials and tribulations of this business and the bullshit that fuels this industry (note: see the photo above where I am having a troubling conversation with my agent and a producer while halfway through an Ape make-up appliance)… this project was a huge reminder of how lucky I actually am to be where I am. This was a surreal opportunity and not a second went by where I wasn’t grateful for the experience and the chance to be a miniscule part of the PLANET OF THE APES world.

Forgetting the semantics and the business side of working in Hollywood… I love movies. And I have more respect for film and the people who came before me than some religious people may even have in their own Gods. The fact that I got to be made up in the actual costume worn by Maurice Evans in one of the most iconic roles and important films of the past century is nothing less than mind blowing for me.

Which is why it was so important to me that before the costume came off, I got to take this picture with Mr. Evan’s make-up test photo shot in 1967…

Maurice Evans died in 1989. But yesterday, for a few hours at least, I got to bring Dr. Zaius back to life.

Hooray for Hollywood.

-Adam