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The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes villain based his role on the billionaire who inspired Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.

Posted on by angelo
The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes villain based his role on the billionaire who inspired Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.

Wes Ball adds another strand to the popular Planet of the Apes franchise with Owen Teague in the lead alongside Lydia Peckham and Freya Allan. Kevin Durand plays the story’s main villain, Proximus Caesar, and the actor recently revealed that he was partly inspired by one of the richest men in the world.

Proximus Caesar angryProximus Caesar angry
The Proximus César by Kevin Durand in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Elon Musk, who is currently the second richest man in the world after the president of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has inspired several characters in films and series. Musk, who is undoubtedly one of the most popular billionaires, has also appeared in several film projects, including his The Big Bang Theory appearance and of course, in the Robert Downey Jr. film. Iron Man 2.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes The villainous actor revealed his inspiration

Kévin Durand in interviewKévin Durand in interview
Kevin Durand. Credit: HeyUGuys/YT

Kevin Durand, who plays the villainous Proximus Caesar – an ape king who leads a coastal clan of monkeys in search of human technology – revealed that he was partly inspired by the tech billionaire. Elon Musk. Without a doubt, the billionaire has a huge social influence with an astonishing number of fans following him on his own social media platform, X (formerly Twitter which he renamed after his acquisition of the company). In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesas Durand revealed in his conversation with Podcast Inside Total FilmMusk was among the influential people he looked at while developing his character.

“It’s awesome! I mean, even with the bonobo head, they compare me to Elon Musk… I have Elon Musk all the time actually, it’s very funny. People approach me with a look in eyes and I realize that they’re not meeting an actor they like, it’s something bigger. But the fact that it manifests itself even when I’m a monkey is fantastic! Durand said in the podcast.

The actor added that he was looking for charismatic speakers and Musk, he said, happened to be one of them.

“I’ve watched some really charismatic speakers – I’ve watched a lot of (life coach) Tony Robbins, Elon, Arnold Schwarzenegger do like his gubernatorial speeches. Just these humans who, without trying, just observe them as they hold so much power and charisma,” he added.

Obviously, Musk’s gradual development to claim his place among the world’s richest men was apparently the inspiration behind the MCU’s Tony Stark played by a veteran. Robert Downey Jr.. And in this regard, Durand’s inspiration does not seem far-fetched.

Fans agree with Kevin Durand

Interview with Elon MuskInterview with Elon Musk
Elon Musk. Credit: Real Time with Bill Maher/YT

While Durand revealed his inspiration for the character’s voice in the Wes Ball-directed action and science fiction film, fans had no trouble believing the actor. Additionally, many fans find the facial similarity between the actor and the billionaire, and Musk’s inspiration would be an easy choice when determining motivation for a role.

Regardless, Musk’s influence is undeniable. Mark Fergus, among the screenwriters of Iron Manpreviously revealed the real-life inspiration when developing Tony Stark. “Him (Musk), Trump and maybe a little Steve Jobs. » Fergus said after giving credit to aerospace engineer Howard Hughes (via Squire).

“…Crowd work for which Musk has a real natural talent. Musk combined the brilliance of Jobs with the showmanship of Trump. He was the only one who had the fun side, the celebrity vibe and real commercial substance. I’m not sure we talked about too many other people; There aren’t many people like that around here. It’s dangerous to be a famous businessman. A scandal and it’s billions of dollars. People want their CEOs to shut up and be good, quiet people who don’t appear in the news and date celebrities. Because things can happen. »

To complete the quote, Musk’s appearance in Iron Man 2 justified Musk’s inherent connection to the MCU’s titular character.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now showing in theaters.