Maurice, Planet of the Apes: Actor, Species and Fate

Maurice is an orangutan and a companion of Caesar throughout the modern Apes saga. The character is credited as "Maurice" in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, and as "Maurice / Court Clerk" in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where the credit covers a second small role alongside the ape.

Karin Konoval plays Maurice in all three films, and she is billed eighth for Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes before moving up to third for War for the Planet of the Apes, which is a fair measure of how the part grows. The series is built on performance capture (Andy Serkis as Caesar is the best known example), and Rise director Rupert Wyatt has spoken about preferring motion capture to ape suits. Maurice is the same kind of character: an ape built from a human performance.

A quick note on names, because search results do get tangled. In Planet of the Apes (1968), the orangutan Dr. Zaius is played by an actor called Maurice Evans, so Maurice the actor and Maurice the character are different people from different eras. If you want the orangutan from the reboot films, you are on the right page. For the wider ensemble, see planet of the apes characters and planet of the apes cast.

Maurice's closest bond is with Caesar, and the other ties branch out from it. Caesar is the chimpanzee raised by Will Rodman who becomes the leader of the freed apes; see caesar planet of the apes for his own profile. Maurice meets him at the shelter in Rise and is still beside him when he dies in War.

Rocket is the other long running companion. Terry Notary is credited as Rocket in Rise, Dawn and War, and Rocket rides out with Caesar and Maurice in War. Luca, played by Michael Adamthwaite, makes up the party of four that tracks the Colonel.

Nova is the girl Maurice names in War. She is a mute orphan taken in during the hunt for the Colonel, and she is not the same character as the Nova of the 1968 film. See nova planet of the apes for the original. Bad Ape, played by Steve Zahn, is the lonely chimp who joins them partway through the same film and leads them to the compound.

The Colonel is the enemy of the group, and Caesar's son Cornelius is the child whose future Maurice speaks about at the end.

In my opinion, the finest thing about Maurice is how much the character does with very little, and the best moments come from restraint rather than action.

First, the shelter in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Maurice is one of the friends Caesar makes among the apes there, and the film gives Caesar the speeches while the orangutan stays a quiet presence in the background. It could be argued that this sets the pattern for everything Maurice does later.

Second, naming Nova in War for the Planet of the Apes. A mute girl with no history is handed a name by Maurice, and the film lets that stand without comment. In my view it is one of the gentler moments in a film about a prison camp, and it suggests the apes can be kinder than the humans hunting them.

Third, the promise at the oasis. Perhaps the line that matters most in the trilogy is Maurice's promise to Caesar that Cornelius will learn what his father did, because it turns the ending from a death into a handover. If you are new to the saga, start with planet of the apes movies in order and watch Rise, Dawn and War back to back; Maurice pays off best that way.