Planet of the Apes is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control as the dominant species. Accordingly, the primary characters of the franchise include individuals belonging to both species, acting as protagonists and antagonists across the series in three disparate timelines. This list features characters from the original film (based on Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel Planet of the Apes), its sequels, and reboots.
Characters introduced in the original film series Taylor
George Taylor, more commonly known as Taylor, is the main protagonist of the original Planet of the Apes film also appearing in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Taylor is an American astronaut and the leader of a space expedition. Taylor was played by Charlton Heston. While Taylor's first name is never spoken in dialogue, the end credits of Planet of the Apes identify him as George Taylor. Taylor was born or very likely born, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he learned to read and write in Jefferson Public School.
At the start of Planet of the Apes, Taylor and two of his crew wake from hibernation to discover their spaceship has crash-landed in a lake on what they take to be an Earth-like, but largely barren, planet orbiting a Sun-like star in the constellation Orion. The ship's chronometer reads as Earth year 3978, 2,010 Earth years after their take-off. As the ship sinks, the three astronauts escape.
Taylor and his crew explore, finding mute humans being hunted by gorillas on horseback. Taylor is shot in his throat, and taken to Ape City. His crew mates Dodge and Landon are killed and lobotomised, respectively. Taylor is examined by chimpanzee psychologist Dr. Zira and Dr. Cornelius, thinking he might be a missing link between humans and their "evolved superiors", the apes. Learning of Taylor's intelligence, orangutan Dr Zaius wants Taylor put to death and to know where he came from. Taylor escapes from the laboratory with Cornelius and Zira, and eventually ends up discovering the planet he is on is Earth.
In Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Heston returns as Taylor, helping another astronaut named Brent, who was originally sent to rescue Taylor, to destroy a nuclear weapon worshipped by underground mutants. In the process, the weapon is detonated, destroying everything.
In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Taylor is briefly mentioned and referred to as Colonel Taylor despite the character never being given a military rank in the two previous films.
Dr Cornelius
Dr. Cornelius is a chimpanzee archaeologist and historian who appears in the original novel of Planet of the Apes (La Planète des singes), and also the first three installments of the classic movie series of the same name. Cornelius was played in the first and third film by Roddy McDowall, and in the second by David Watson.
In 1968's Planet of the Apes, Cornelius is introduced as the fiancé of Dr. Zira, an animal psychologist and veterinarian, both of whom are on the scientific staff of Dr. Zaius. Cornelius begins to question how the ape society began, especially its evolution. Cornelius sees that Taylor is worthy of consideration as an intelligent being. Cornelius and Zira escape with Taylor to the "Forbidden Zone" (a wasteland where humans are said to come from) to a site where Cornelius had been digging the year before. Dr. Zaius pursues them, is captured by Taylor and is forced to accept the evidence for a pre-ape human society. Cornelius accepts that apes did not evolve from humans, and rediscovered the inventions that humans had created. Taylor leaves; the artifacts are destroyed, and Cornelius and Zira return home.
In Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius and Zira meet another astronaut, Brent, who appears at their doorstep after being shot by a gorilla. Cornelius gives Brent a map leading to where they left Taylor and instructs him not to let other apes hear him speak.
In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius and Zira themselves become astronauts, escaping their world in Taylor's spacecraft that was found and restored by their friend Dr Milo, and travelling back in time to roughly 1–3 years after Taylor's departure. They discover a world run by humans and deduce it is their own planet from the apes' prehistory. After being celebrities, the apes are imprisoned and interrogated by the humans. Zira is pregnant and this puts the fear of an ape-run Earth in the humans. Zira gives birth to Milo (renamed Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes ) and is taken into hiding by Armando, a sympathetic circus owner. After being discovered by Dr. Hasslein, Cornelius and Zira escape with a normal chimpanzee baby, which they had switched with Milo to ensure his safety. All three are killed.
Dr Zira
Dr. Zira is a chimpanzee psychologist and veterinarian, who specializes in the study of humans, in the novel and subsequent film series. Zira was played in the first three films by Kim Hunter.
Zira is the partner of Cornelius, with both reporting to Dr. Zaius. Zira is outspoken by nature, deploring war and militancy and despising the gorillas who make both a way of life. In the original novel, Zira discovers that her caged laboratory human, called Ulysse Mérou, isn't a native-born, mute human of her planet, but a space traveller capable of speech. Zira secretly teaches him the language of the apes in hopes of eventually making a public demonstration.
In Planet of the Apes, Zira meets astronaut Taylor, who is unable to speak after being shot in the throat. As Zira tends to his wound, she discovers Taylor has intelligence beyond any human she has ever seen; she pairs him with a female human called Nova, also intelligent (though somewhat less evolved and incapable of speech), hoping the two will breed. Taylor eventually speaks and Zira shows him off to Cornelius. Both believe that he might be a “missing link” to explain the similarities between ape-human behaviour and anatomy. In both novel and film, Zira ultimately helps Mérou/Taylor and Nova to escape the world of the apes, coming to appreciate each as thinking creatures like herself.
In Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Zira and Cornelius meet the astronaut Brent, who has been sent to rescue Taylor, but is now in need of help. Zira treats Brent's wounds and sends him on with Nova.
In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Zira (who is now pregnant), Cornelius and Dr Milo travel back-in-time, via Taylor's restored spaceship, to a time 1–3 years after Taylor's space mission began. Zira and Cornelius are first celebrated by the modern human society on Earth, but are then publicly rejected, partly due to Zira's confessions of her connections with human experiments. Zira and Cornelius are confined and interrogated, where details of their origin, as well as humanity's downfall, further stigmatise the couple. After her baby is born, he is swapped-out for another baby chimp; her actual son, Milo, is moved to safety. Zira and Cornelius escape with the normal chimpanzee baby but are shot in the process. In Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Zira appears in video stills, as her voice tells the story of their space-flight and Earth's destruction while her son, Caesar, watches.
Dr Zaius
Planet of the Apes characterDr Zaius Species Orangutan First appearance Planet of the Apes (1968) Last appearance Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) Created by Pierre Boulle Portrayed by Maurice EvansBooth ColmanRichard Blackburn (voice) Dr. Zaius is an orangutan who has a minor role in the Pierre Boulle novel Planet of the Apes, but becomes a prominent antagonist in the films. A character called Councilor Zaius appears in the television series based upon it. Zaius was played by Maurice Evans in the films and by Booth Colman in the television series. Zaius was voiced in the animated series by Richard Blackburn. In a short film used to pitch the story's concept, Zaius was played by Edward G. Robinson.
In Planet of the Apes, Zaius is the Minister of Science and Chief Defender of the Faith, which grants him access to ancient scrolls not privy to the ape masses. Zaius knows the true origins of the ape society, how humanity fell as the dominant species, and the reasons why the "Forbidden Zone" is so named, and he blames human nature for it all. Zaius prefers an ignorant ape culture to the scientifically open one posed by Cornelius and Zira. Intelligent humans like Taylor (and human technology) cause Zaius to fear another downfall, along with the possibility of a human resurgence. Zaius destroys the archaeological findings of human artifacts predating the ape society. Zaius' actions are to protect the world from humanity, but he has respect for Taylor, advising him not to pursue the mystery as to how the apes evolved from humans because it will not help him and he may not like what he discovers.
In Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Zaius leaves on a military expedition with General Ursus to invade the "Forbidden Zone" and meets Taylor once more, in a showdown between the gorillas and a mutant human race living underground in the Zone. Taylor tries to keep the mutants from activating a Doomsday bomb, being shot in the process by gorillas. Mortally wounded, Taylor begs Zaius to help him stop the bomb; Zaius refuses, declaring "Man is evil, capable only of destruction!" In Taylor's last dying moments, his hand accidentally falls on the bomb's triggering mechanism, causing it to activate and destroy Earth.
In the television series, a character called Councillor Zaius serves as a government official, with authority over all the humans in his district. The young chimpanzee Galen becomes his new assistant, but becomes a fugitive with two human astronauts Virdon and Burke, fleeing from Zaius and his gorilla enforcer, General Urko.
Caesar
General Aldo In Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Aldo is the general of the gorilla militia which guards the outskirts of Ape City. Aldo was played by Claude Akins.
Aldo is jealous of his human advisers as well as of Caesar and his son, Cornelius. Aldo would like to replace Caesar as leader. Humans live alongside apes in the city, but as second class citizens. He discovers a large number of irradiated humans still alive underground in the bomb-destroyed city they escaped. Aldo uses this as an excuse to corral all the humans of Ape City and declare martial law. Caesar and Aldo fight together against the attack, and beat back the humans. Aldo ignores Caesar's order to stand down, and leads his forces to hunt down the retreating mutant humans. Caesar discovers Aldo's role in his son's death. Upon Aldo's return from the hunt, Caesar confronts him resulting in Aldo's death.
A chimpanzee character named Aldo was portrayed by David Chow in the previous film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Another Aldo is mentioned in Escape from the Planet of the Apes as the first ape to say "no" (a word that had repeatedly been spoken to him by humans), but it is never confirmed if that Aldo is either of the same characters depicted in the other films.
Armando Armando is a circus owner, a human friend of Cornelius and Zira, and the foster-father of Caesar in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Armando was played by Ricardo Montalbán.