Jason Liles interview: Motion capture rising star of Rampage

This week Hidden Remote got the chance to interview breakout star Jason Liles, who plays a silverback gorilla named George in Rampage. Read what he enjoyed about working with The Rock, as well as which video games he still loves to play as an adult!

Motion capture performances are the most groundbreaking new ways for actors to execute characters. The technology has seen some in Hollywood take the digital innovation and make it more than just a technological gimmick. People like Andy Serkis, Terry Notary, and even Toby Kebbel have taken the tools of mo-cap and shown them to be a serious instrument used to create complex characters. Jason Liles is a rising star within the world of motion capture and his latest performance with George in Rampage is another smashing example of actors exploring characters outside the boundaries of human portrayal.

Standing at a massive 6’9, Liles began his career with Rick Baker doing a series of aliens in Men in Black III. Since then, he has made an uncredited appearance as The Crooked Man’s shadow in The Conjuring 2, as well as a spellbinding physical performance in Death Note as the death God Ryuk. Now, with his new mo-cap performance, Liles hopes to follow in the footsteps of some his heroes such as Andy Serkis and Doug Jones.

We recently caught up with Mr. Liles to discuss his extensive process in transforming into a giant ape as well as discuss nerdy video games we loved from our childhood.

Hidden Remote: First of all, congrats on such a breakout performance with Rampage! So how did you become involved in Rampage and what inspired you to play George?

Jason Liles: I was always told I was too tall to be an actor and I found a niche in playing these nonhuman characters–these creatures and monsters like Ryuk in Death Note. It was just less than two years ago I was a waiter at Outback Steakhouse full-time, and Death Note came along and I booked it.

I got to quit (Outback) and go to Vancouver, Canada to shoot that film. I got to be friends with  Colin Strause– who was the visual effects supervisor on Death Note– who then recommended me for the role in Rampage. He was telling me about Rampage while we were filming back in the Summer of 2015. When we got back to L.A. I was at his house for a barbecue and he said, “You know they are looking for someone to play George the gorilla in Rampage?” That it would involve Dwayne Johnson, who is going to raise him from birth and teach him sign language. And that it would also involve WETA–who did Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes. I love WETA! He says, “I’m going to tell them you are the best choice so start researching.”

So I researched for about six months. I watched documentaries and I went to the zoo. I looked at all the behind-the-scenes footage of Planet of the Apes and King Kong, as well as interviews with Andy Serkis and Terry Notary.  Koko the gorilla is a really big inspiration for George in this, who was raised by Penny Patterson and who taught her sign language.

Months later I booked it, and I got trained by Terry Notary who is Kong in Kong: Skull Island., and all the Planet of the Apes movies and The Square which was nominated for Best Foreign Film. He is “the guy” and getting to work with him for three weeks in the Santa Monica mountains here, logging I don’t know how many hours. Putting on miles and miles of arm extensions and sitting down and meditating out in the mountains and getting to this place inside of me as a gorilla. Him getting me through that, I couldn’t have done it without him.

Then of course after 8 or 9 months of preparing, we shot the movie. I walk on set, and there’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson himself. He is just the nicest guy in the world.

It really was an amazing set of circumstances that led to me getting Rampage. I couldn’t have gotten it without my friend Colin Strause. I couldn’t have gotten it if I wasn’t on Death Note. So it’s interesting the set of dominoes that led to that.

HR: Oh yeah, I can imagine. That’s amazing you went from working at Outback Steakhouse to being a part of a team that helped make Lord of the Rings. Man, that’s incredible.

Liles: I’ve been so lucky. I have had so much help and I love anyone who has helped me get here. and I am so thankful for everyone who has helped get me here.

HR: What made you interested in doing motion capture work as well as performances that require heavy makeup?

Liles: What got me involved is I found that was where I fit, with those otherworldly type of characters. That’s where I fit best because I’m 6’9, and I looked at people who did that like Doug Jones– who most recently did Shape of Water and Star Trek Discovery and figured well I should try to follow in his footsteps. I was really inspired by Andy Serkis’ work in Lord of the Rings because that was one of my favorite characters of all time. I dreamt of being in a movie where I got to do something like that. Doing a movie like that with WETA? That would be amazing!

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I got to do a Doug Jones type character with Ryuk in Death Note and a Terry Notary type character with WETA in Rampage. It’s interesting how I fell into it. I actually didn’t think I would ever do performance capture because my height is very helpful for roles where they put me in makeup, with prosthetics and creature suits, but I didn’t think it would ever help me with performance capture. Andy Serkis is 5’7. Terry Notary is 5’7 or 5’8 and they both have played King Kong. You don’t have to be tall necessarily but in this case, they wanted someone who on set was physically big when they would be down on all fours like a gorilla, and if I stood up, maybe Dwayne would have to look up to me.

So, it really was something that got me in the door and gave me the opportunity. I love things like this because they are so far from who I am so it helps me find out a lot about myself, it helps me really stretch myself as an actor and as an artist to have to portray something that does exist like a Gorilla or one that doesn’t like a death God or a shinigami. I love those, those are some of my favorite characters in movies. Those types, getting to play those is like getting paid to do the ultimate Halloween imagination playtime, you know?

HR: Oh., for sure. There’s a lot of complexities I believe that can be explored in these kinds of roles that are not there for something as simple as maybe Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. Which leads me to my next question.

What do you think is more difficult as a performer– Getting a performance through mo-cap or say a performance through prosthetics and make-up like Ryuk in Death Note?

Liles: Both are difficult in different ways. Being in prosthetics– I’ve worked in some that have taken eight hours to apply, or I have worked in creature suits that weigh 160 pounds. Having to act in something where I Jason am blind but the character isn’t, and I am in a huge suit but I have to pretend like I am not.  That creates difficulties that you have to get used to in and of itself. But then playing performance capture I am not wearing any of that heavy stuff but basically pajamas and makeup that takes half an hour, and then put dots on my face, which is difficult in a different way because I kind of look ridiculous [Laughs]

I want to bring a moment of truth to the role, and really breathe light to the character where people aren’t seeing a stick with a bunch of dots on its face but they are seeing George It’s a little easier to look at me when I have a bunch of makeup  on and think wow that’s scary but performance capture might be a little more difficult on the other actors. Either way, it’s always the same whether I am a human or a monster in creature effects or if I am in performance capture, for me it’s always about creating a character vocally and physically. I love both. Both are great tools. It’s just a matter of what’s the best for the scenario? Practical effects? Performance capture? A combination of the two? They are both difficult but I love both.

HR: Now that you have been able to work with The Rock you were both able to share a ton of scenes while filming, what were some of the most memorable moments you had shooting with Dwayne Johnson?

Liles: Definitely, the first time I met him is what’s really memorable because I’m a fan. He is The Rock probably the most well-known celebrity on the planet, the biggest action star in Hollywood. To know I was going to be playing his best friend– his Chewbacca. It was really exciting and when I met him he was so kind. So loving and enthusiastic. He was fascinated by what I studied.

“How did you learn how to walk around like that and sound like that?” He was really amazing from the beginning. That’s where that picture online of me on all fours standing next to him in front of the cage came from. That first day he’s like “Dude we have to get a picture. You look so awesome when you do that.” So he was just great.

There are some real emotional moments in this film. It’s scary for George that he is infected the way he is, that his body is changing the way that it is. It’s painful and he doesn’t know how to communicate it. There is a moment George is scared. You see it in the trailer. George is in a cave and The Rock is signing to him “you’re scared it’s okay. It’s okay to be scared.” And George comes out and oh my goodness he is bigger! That scene, when you see behind-the-scenes there’s a lot of tears and snot on my face because I was just crying. Having those moments with Dwayne Johnson like that…But we also have other moments in the film where we bust each others chops, like two alpha males butting heads lovingly. It’s fun to play an alpha male gorilla against the alpha male himself The Rock.

HR: I saw online that you were a video game nerd growing up as a kid. What were some of your favorite video games?

Liles: I was a video game nerd growing up and I still am a video game nerd. I still have all my old video game stuff. I have a Nintendo Switch here and I play games on my laptop. I loved Super Mario World. I remember when we got N64 watching my brother play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

HR: Oh that was a great game!

Liles: It’s still a great game. There’s never been a game like it. I still play Mario Kart and I did play Rampage as a kid. I played Rampage World Tour on N64. I remember playing it with a friend at his house and then renting it from Blockbuster because I loved it so much. And so I have always been a big nerd and I am the biggest nerd I have ever been right now. I am 6’9 and still playing games every day.

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HR: The video game movie genre has had its struggles. If you were trying to convince a fan to see this movie, how would you say Rampage is different from other video game movies?

Liles: A lot of things. That’s a really great question because it has been a quote-on-quote “curse” that video game movies have. I think the biggest thing is that has made films not work in the past is that they have made movies of games that have such a huge following; that have such a rich lineage and franchise and so much content. What do you put in the movie? How do you fit it all in? But how do you make it accessible to fans who don’t know anything about the game? Are they just going to be lost if you put too much stuff in there? But if you leave too much out are you going to really kinda alienate the hardcore fans? It’s a tough balance.

What Rampage does so well is as long as there are three monsters destroying stuff then it’s rampage. As long as its wolf, gorilla, and crocodile it’s Rampage.

They took that and they were able to form a narrative around that. They were able to form a story with depth. It’s extremely relatable. It’s a man and his best friend, It’s not his pet but anyone that has had a pet will relate to the love Davis has for George. It’s an unshakable bond that they have had every day with each other for 15 years, They are brothers. They are father-son, and so that relationship at the core brings some heart to it.

First and foremost it’s fun and that’s what a video game movie should be. It should be fun it should be entertaining, it should be, a big popcorn flick. It should be a blockbuster and that’s what Rampage is with a lot of comical moments and a lot of ridiculous moments. It’s got great action, and heart.It’s got relationship at the core.

HR: I completely agree. I think most studios get caught up in trying to adapt the entire source material but forget about what made the games entertaining.

Liles: I think a lot of video game movies would be better as a television series, where you have hours and hours of material. For a two-hour movie though, I think Rampage is perfect.

HR: So, I have one more question for you. I did a lot of research and saw in various interviews that you were hinting at a big project coming up. I know you won’t say what it is.

Liles: [Laughs] Yeah. Yeah. I do. I asked before we started doing publicity. I was like, “Can I talk about that yet?” And they said no. It’s a movie and it’s not a secret that it’s coming out my involvement in it is just a secret.

HR: I have a theory in mind. Is it The Crooked Man (The Conjuring spin-off)?

Liles: [Laughing] I will say no. Any other guesses I’ll have to say no comment otherwise I’ll give it away. Because if you get it, I don’t wanna lie and be like no. It’s not that film but it’s something, it’s a big movie that people will be seeing next year and I am excited to be able to talk about that whenever I can.

HR: Well hopefully whenever that happens we can communicate again. I wanna congratulate you again. I hope you have a very successful weekend and thank you for this interview Jason.

Liles: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Next: Will Rampage get a sequel?

To follow more on Jason Liles and all of his upcoming projects you can follow him on Twitter @TheJasonLiles as well as Instagram.

Rampage is now in theaters everywhere.