What Noa From Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Looks Like In Real Life

With "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," the storied franchise received a brand new protagonist in the form of Noa. Set centuries after the events of 2017's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," the latest flick focuses on Noa's quest to uncover the truth about his increasingly hostile world. Unsurprisingly, the new entry is solid, with Looper's review praising "Kingdom" for its stunning action sequences and impressive special effects. What's most notable about the recent batch of "Apes" films is how they use motion capture to bring the monkeys to life. With "Kingdom," the technology on display is even further perfected, with the apes looking stunningly photorealistic. 

At the heart of the film is Owen Teague's role as Noa. The young actor provides a believable and nuanced performance as the humble but confused ape who eagerly seeks answers. To bring the character of Noa to life, Teague spent time studying chimpanzees at the Center for Great Apes. The actor was particularly drawn to a chimp named Bentley, who had the curious eyes that he wanted to convey with Noa. 

After finding inspiration, Teague suited up to film the special effects-heavy picture, which he surprisingly found easy. "There isn't a challenge getting into character; it's almost easier," the actor told Cult MTL about working with the motion capture tech. "It's intuitive by the time you go to the camera. It affords you a great deal of freedom because you can really disappear and not think about yourself. There is a learning curve to working with the technology, but it's short."

The original "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" ending would have drastically shifted Noa's fate, but that wouldn't have changed Owen Teague's powerhouse performance. For many, the draw of "Planet of the Apes" is the impressive visual effects used to bring characters like Noa to life. Because the hero was modeled on the actor, Teague found it jarring to see a different version of himself. "Like, it's just me! But it's also warped my brain a little bit, because now, when I see Noa on a billboard or whatever, I'm like, Oh, look ... it's my face," Teague told Esquire. 

With "Kingdom" lighting up the box office, it must be pretty hilarious for Teague's major leading man debut to have him featured as an ape. Sure, the character of Noa looks a lot like the individual who plays him, but it's still a performance capture role, which doesn't exactly allow the actor's face card to shine. However, there is a chance that viewers have seen Teague elsewhere, as the actor appeared as the bully Patrick Hockstetter in Andy Muschietti's "It," and its sequel. Viewers have also seen the Noa actor in tons of small-screen fare, with him boasting roles in both "Bloodline" and "Black Mirror." He also played Alec Travers in "I See You," which is probably why he looks so familiar to many fans. Teague later returned to the world of Stephen King with the 2020 "Stand" miniseries. 

"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" is in theatres.