I WENT APE FOR THE ROLE
Goodman: Thrilled they wanted me to be in ‘Skull Island’
THE POSSIBILITY of starring in a King Kong movie once seemed like nothing more than a distant fantasy to John Goodman.
The actor, known for his comedic roles in “The Big Lebowski” and “Roseanne,” grew up a fan of the 1960s Kong television series, but he admits he never imagined there’d be a place for him within the monster franchise before he joined the upcoming “Kong: Skull Island.”
“I never thought I’d have a shot of doing anything like this,” Goodman, 64, told the Daily News. “I don’t fit any of the types that would be in a King Kong movie.”
In the movie — which opens on Friday — Goodman stars as Bill Randa, a stoic government official in 1973 hell-bent on proving monsters exist, even if it means risking the lives of others in a secret expedition to King Kong’s previously unexplored island home.
During production, Goodman and his co-stars Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson faced the monstrous task of imagining they were surrounded by a 100-foot ape and other colossal beasts as they filmed their scenes, since the movie’s makers had no way of accurately portraying such size on set.
Goodman says it was as simple as playing pretend.
“They’d tell us approximately where it was going to be,” Goodman recalled. “For me, it was going back to when I started doing plays in the church basement, where you just imagine stuff. It was fun. It was just like, ‘Let’s pretend.’”
Movies like “Transformers” tackled similar issues by using a tennis ball stuck to the end of a 20-foot pole to mimic the height of the towering characters.
But “Kong” director Jordan Vogt-Roberts says that wasn’t an option for his movie.
“When you get to 100 feet, there’s not a good way to do something like that,” he said. “You really do just have to resort to using very simple (cues) like, ‘You see that mountain over there? You see that cliff over there? You see that tree over there?’ That’s where you’re lookA
ing. … It’s a real testament to these actors.”
Filming for “Kong: Skull Island” proved to be tough. The cast traveled to three different continents over a six-month span to capture scenes for the movie — with many requiring them to venture into the depths of the jungle or wade waist-high into a murky swamp.
Shooting began in Oahu, Hawaii, and made a stop along Australia’s Gold Coast as well, but it was Vietnam — the movie’s final filming destination — that truly captured the essence of King Kong’s home.
“Skull Island is Vietnam. Anytime you are outside in a big expanse (in the movie), any time you are out in a big wide, that is Vietnam,” Vogt-Roberts said. “The rock, the ruggedness, the jaggedness, the primordial screaming beauty, the fog — that’s Vietnam.”
Goodman, who had never been to Vietnam, was similarly mesmerized by the picturesque scenery, and even though he only spent a few weeks there, it left a lasting impression.
“It was so exotic and different and beautiful,” he said. “I really want to go back.”
During his time off, Goodman hung out with his cool-kid costars like the 27-year-old Larson, who planned events for the weekends. She even managed to get the cast into a Warner Bros. amusement park after hours one night in Australia, where park employees ran Batman and Superman rides for the star-studded ensemble.
“Kong: Skull Island” is technically a reboot of the monster franchise, which began in 1933 with the film classic “King Kong.” But unlike past “Kong” installments, this won’t feature the longstanding plotline in which the colossal ape captures the main female character.
“We’ve seen it before so many times, and we’ve seen it done well so many times,” Vogt-Roberts said. “So why tread in that territory again? What do we possibly have to gain retelling the beauty and the beast story? And frankly, I don’t think the beauty and the beast story is as progressive or relevant in 2017.”
Goodman had only one complaint.
“I was surprised that I wasn’t the beauty,” he said. “That hurt.”