After getting killed off as Koba in “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” Toby Kebbell continued to thump his chest as Skull Island’s biggest inhabitant, King Kong, in the Jordan Vogt-Roberts film, “Kong: Skull Island.” Besides starring as one of the unfortunate soldiers sent to the mysterious island, Kebbell applied the skills he’d gained at ape school on a monstrous level and breathed life into the character in a beautiful fashion by way of facial expressions.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kebbell cleared up that the majority of the performance was from his former “Apes” co-star, Terry Notary, who played Rocket in the franchise. “I gave some facial reference — certain subtleties, certain looks,” revealed Kebbell. “Terry and I worked on stuff together and created what Kong needed.” The star made sure to send the praise in Notary’s direction, adding, “It’s a real honor to be asked by someone who’s a great performer to come and help support their performance. It becomes a symbiotic thing, and it’s more like buddies asking each other to help … If we were mechanics and he was having a problem with his sprocket set, it’s more like he borrowed my sprocket set than me playing King Kong.”
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