Release Date: December 8, 2006
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Director: Mel Gibson
Screenwriter: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia
Genre: Action, Adventure
MPAA Rating: R
****

ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS:
1. PRODUCTION INFORMATION
2. ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
3. CASTING MAYA IN THE MODERN WORLD
4. LEARNING TO SPEAK YUCATEC MAYA
5. THE PRODUCTION OF APOCALYPTO
6. WHO WERE THE MAYA?
7. WHO WERE THE MAYA AND WHAT BECAME OF THEM?
8. TIMELINE OF THE MAYA
9. GLOSSARY OF MAYAN PHRASES

If Gibson’s vision for APOCALYPTO was going to come to life, the director knew he would need actors who would make the story feel completely and utterly real, as if it were dynamically unfolding in the here and now. He was determined from the start to use only faces that were authentically indigenous to tell this indigenous story—and to cast actors who would be completely unknown to moviegoing audiences. “It makes the story feel that much more real and convincing, because you don’t have any reference points for the performances you’re watching,” comments Gibson. “But this doesn’t mean you won’t see amazing performances, because you will.”

To capture a consistent Mesoamerican look in each of his actors, the filmmakers cast an unusually wide net, going on extensive searches throughout Mexico, especially in the Yucatan, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Xalapa, Veracruz and Catemaco. The quest continued in Southern California and New Mexico; in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver; as well as Central America. Ultimately, three cast members hailed from Canada, two from the United States, and the remainder came from Mexico and other parts of Central America, including over 700 extras who create the sense of a teeming metropolis of many classes and backgrounds in the Maya City sequences. Some of the younger cast who came from isolated Indian communities had never even seen a hotel room before the production.

“Many of our cast had never been in a film before,” says Gibson, “but that worked because what we really wanted to capture were the primal instincts and natural reactions that to me are the most heartfelt and emotionally real. I wanted everything to feel authentic and believable.”

Gibson hired Carla Hool, a Mexico City-based casting agent, to help with the auditions, which involved an unusual process. “The actors had to be really physically fit, with bodies like athletes or dancers, and have great stamina,” she explains. “In fact, part of our casting process was seeing how the actors could move and run. We also had them read Mayan poetry. We were not necessarily looking for people with a background in acting, although we do have a number of fine actors in the cast. But they didn’t have to act per se. It was more about their look, their movements and what they had within them.”

For the lead role of Jaguar Paw, Gibson knew he would need an actor who the audience would follow through this unremitting journey of unexpected battles, shocks and revelations. After extensive auditions, he discovered Rudy Youngblood, a Native American of the Comanche, Cree and Yaqui people, who makes a riveting acting debut in APOCALYPTO. A powwow dancer, singer and artist, Youngblood also is an accomplished athlete, cross-country racer and boxer—and his physical vibrancy along with his natural expressiveness made him perfect for the role of a man racing to save his life, his loved ones and the forest that has always been his home.

“Rudy has an innocence but also an incredible strength,” says Safinia. Adds Gibson: “I’m so proud of what he was able to achieve.”

Despite the fact that Jaguar Paw lives within an ancient culture, Youngblood immediately related to him. “Jaguar Paw is a lot like me,” he says. “We’re from different eras but very much the same person. He is strong. He’s a giver, not a taker. He loves his family. He’s respectful, and he learns in the course of the story not to be afraid. This is also what I have been taught in my culture.”

Youngblood’s physical prowess and honed athleticism enabled him to do most of his own stunt work, including a scene that simulates a death-defying free-fall from the top of a raging waterfall, as well as the breathtaking sequence in which Jaguar Paw is chased by a jaguar— which involved Rudy getting up close and personal with a really big cat. “Rudy is probably the purest athlete I’ve ever seen,” comments Mic Rodgers, stunt coordinator on APOCALYPTO. “He has his head together and is totally on top of his game. If he wasn’t an actor, he could be a stuntman.”

Says Youngblood: “The physicality of this film was gut-wrenching and some of the scenes—jumping off the waterfall and being chased by the jaguar—were literally heart- pounding for me. There was constant adrenaline, constant action, and lots of pain and fear, but Jaguar Paw is able to transcend all of that. It’s part of who he is.”

Meanwhile for the role of Zero Wolf, the fierce Holcane warrior who captures and then must hunt down Jaguar Paw, Gibson cast Raoul Trujillo, a native of New Mexico who is an established actor in film and television (“Black Robe,” “The New World”) as well as a dancer and choreographer. It was Trujillo’s intense focus and leadership qualities—along with a more vulnerable, paternal side—that convinced Gibson he could pull off a role that goes beyond the typical black-and-white contours of a villain.

Trujillo’s transformation became complete when he donned the complex makeup that turned him into Zero Wolf. “He’s actually a very handsome guy, so we had to ugly him up some!” remarks Gibson. “We marred his natural features and gave him a more mythic proboscis. He became very scary looking.”

Trujillo picks up the story: “At our first meeting, Mel said to me, ‘You are Zero Wolf’ and at that time, I really didn’t know who Zero Wolf was. But when I put on the costume and makeup, I truly did become Zero Wolf. It was like Mel said, ‘You don’t have to be scary. You are scary.’”

Yet in playing Zero Wolf, Trujillo wanted to emphasize that the character isn’t necessarily evil. “Zero Wolf is a character who has a timelessness, who has existed in all cultures, within all of humanity,” he says. “He represents the shadow of the hero of the film. He drags Jaguar Paw through all the paces necessary to become who he needs to be to present hope for humanity and a future. I wanted him to have the complexity of being someone who has a job to do and does it. I really invested energy into developing a character that was not rooted or based in evil but rooted in the fact that he is just carrying out his duty.”

Many of the other key characters in APOCALYPTO are played by newcomers who impressed the filmmakers with their unique combinations of classical looks and colorful personalities. For example, in the role of insidiously impatient Holcane Warrior Snake Ink is Rodolfo Palacios, an actor from Mexico City, who was cast because of his unique ability to look threatening in a fresh way. Palacios endured 7 hours in the makeup chair every day to sport the complex web of facial and torso tattoos that make Snake Ink so uniquely frightening. It wasn’t easy, but Palacios was always impressed by how generous Gibson was with his diverse and largely inexperienced cast. “He was always talking with us about our opinions on the script, our characters, the whole process. It was very special,” says Palacios.

To portray another terrifying warrior, the fierce and imposing warrior Middle Eye, veteran Mexican actor Gerardo Taracena joined the cast. “Middle Eye is an absolutely insane character and Gerardo has a great look and is a wonderful actor,” says casting director Carla Hool of the choice.

One of the film’s more humorous characters, Jaguar Paw’s fellow villager and bane of many village jokes, is Blunted. He is played by another new discovery: Jonathan Brewer, who hails from the Blood Reserve in Canada, where he acts and also teaches his culture to inner-city schoolchildren. It was Brewer’s impressive size yet gentle spirit that drew Gibson to him for the role. Brewer wanted to bring the sense of a real human being beneath the comic relief his character provides. “I read the script numerous times to figure out who Blunted really is and talked to Mel and the other actors about him. The character you see on screen grew from all of that,” says the actor. “He’s someone we all can relate to—the big, gentle guy who always gets picked on.”

In the role of the powerful High Priest of the Maya City is Fernando Hernandez, who is himself a Maya originally from Chiapas, Mexico, and who currently lives in Canada, where he conducts indigenous healing ceremonies. Hernandez also appears this year in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Fountain.” As a Maya, he felt especially close to the film’s larger themes. “I believe that to stay in balance is important, and the movie shows what happens when imbalance takes hold,” he says. “As human beings, we always have the responsibility to try to create a society that restores balance.”

Additional Mayan actors in the film include the Old Storyteller who entertains the village with vital myths and tales by firelight. To play this brief but haunting role, Gibson chose an actual Maya storyteller who was discovered in a tiny village in the Yucatan.

Many of the actors were found by serendipity. The character of Monkey Jaw is played by Carlos Ramos—an immigrant from El Salvador who worked at a juice car in Santa Monica before he was discovered dancing at the Third Street Promenade. Another inspirational find came when the filmmakers first saw the stunning visage of Dalia Hernandez, a dancer and student in Veracruz, whose movingly classic features made her the very picture of Jaguar’s beautiful and enterprising wife, Seven. Others cast in APOCALYPTO emerged from such diverse non-acting backgrounds as dancers, mimes, acrobats and gymnasts, circus performers, stage and street theater actors and musicians, as well as a television production assistant and even a primary-education teacher from Cancun.

Yet no matter where the cast members hailed from or what previous experience they had, Gibson wanted all of that to be erased as they immersed themselves completely in the reality of the Mayan world of the film.

“What’s amazing is that Mel has basically created this epic movie with nonprofessional actors, most of whom have never been in front of a camera,” says executive producer Ned Dowd. “He was patient, caring and detailed to the point that many times, he was acting out the scenes for and with the actors. It was remarkable to see how committed he was to this cast, tirelessly devoting his time and energy not only to the main actors but also to the extras, to help them understand and find that special something within them that defines their character.”

1. PRODUCTION INFORMATION
2. ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
3. CASTING MAYA IN THE MODERN WORLD
4. LEARNING TO SPEAK YUCATEC MAYA
5. THE PRODUCTION OF APOCALYPTO
6. WHO WERE THE MAYA?
7. WHO WERE THE MAYA AND WHAT BECAME OF THEM?
8. TIMELINE OF THE MAYA
9. GLOSSARY OF MAYAN PHRASES