Ken Hall, formerly starring on the TBS series
People of Earth, took some time to speak with me about his two latest projects, both of them with Netflix. From the quirky doctor of an assassin in
Polar, starring Mads Mikkelsen, to a gentle, evolved chimpanzee in
The Umbrella Academy alongside Ellen page, Ken talks about his experience working on both productions in tandem, what it was like shooting
that scene in
Polar with Mads Mikkelsen and what it means to be a body actor for an evolved chimpanzee.
You’ve been pretty busy with Netflix, haven’t you? Two projects at once?
Yeah. I was just recently on a Netflix movie called
Polar with Mads Mikkelsen and Jonas Åkerlund, the director, and that just came out a couple weeks ago. And then coming up this Friday is a new Netflix series—and, funny, both of them are based on graphic novels.
Yes!
And the one on Friday is called
The Umbrella Academy, and I play the body of this evolved chimpanzee called Pogo. It’s wonderful, the lead singer of My Chemical Romance wrote
The Umbrella Academy, and Netflix picked it up and turned it into a series. Actually, both
Polar and
The Umbrella Academy are graphic novels from Dark Horse.
Yes. They do Hellboy.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it’s so cool that when we were filming this in Toronto, because I’m based in Toronto, they were like thirty yards apart, because they were shooting at the same time, in the same studio, so it was very convenient to have both productions literally in the same place. It was great.
That is awesome! Now, I did watch Polar recently, and you share this scene with Mads Mikkelsen that is, um, kind of set apart from the rest of the movie in terms of flying bullets and action, but I feel like it might actually be one of the best scenes I’ve seen in a while.
[Laughing]. Thank you. I appreciate it.
And I have an odd sense of humor, but I feel like you really capture the unsung humor of doctors the world-over in this deadpan delivery of that bedside manner humor. Was that awkward? Do you have a favorite thing about shooting that, maybe? Because I can’t imagine keeping a straight face through that, at all.
Oh, my God. I mean, apart from the numerous pear tartines that I ate that day…[laughter] It’s funny because the director was actually like, ‘You don’t actually have to swallow, you can spit it out between takes.’
But it was actually—they had gotten it, I forget the name, from this pie place in Toronto, like a really good one somewhere.
It’s very legendary, and I was just like, ‘I’m really enjoying this pie right now.’ But, uh, apart from eating a lot of pie, it was really cool to work with Mads, and that scene…it’s a really great scene. It’s the sort of establishing shot where we introduce his character.
And I’m giving him that very thorough examination, and he’s got all of these scars and everything like he’s really been through a lot. There’s metal in his lungs…
And he’s so blasé about it.
Yeah, totally. And my thing, actually…the other really fun part of that was to play, and to be, a believable doctor. And working with my acting coach here, his name’s Michael Gordin Shore—a great acting coach based out of Toronto—and so as the scene was written, all the cutaway shots where I look in his ear and listen to his lungs, and poke him and prod him, and of course, the prostate exam, and…
[Laughter].
So, I assumed as I was reading the script that it was just…a really quick, two-second shot of me looking at his ear, or like, [a] stick-out-your-tongue kind of thing, but when I got to the set…[it was] one continuous shot, and they’re showing the entire process.
So, for me, I had a great opportunity to work with the medical props specialist as well…So, it was like a crash-course in all of this, and I’m just like a sponge, absorbing it and I looked at him like, wow this looks very good, I felt very pleased with it.
Though, at the time it felt like I was learning so many different things at once. Because, you know, I don’t want to be like a doctor for the afternoon, I want to portray that I’ve been a doctor for half of my life. So, that was a really cool opportunity, and again, to work with Mads and Jonas was really amazing—Mads, super nice guy. No ego whatsoever, very collaborative, which helped me to just relax and really play off him as well.
[Laughs]. Another funny tid-bit was, when I was doing the prostate exam, I was very gentle with taking down his underwear at first. And he’s like, ‘No, no, no. Just take it down. Just rip it off!’ And I’m like, okay. It’s good we’re establishing our boundaries.
[Interviewer is enjoying this conversation far too much]. Like a band-aid, right?
[Laughing]. Yeah, yeah. Exactly. So funny.
I just love how you go straight from the glove to the pie.
I know, right? No hand wash or anything, and of course the pies are in the little fridge with like the urine samples. And, completely unhygienic, but I love that. I love the quirkiness of it.
And it’s so accurate, though.
And it’s right up my alley, I mean. A lot of my improv and comedy career over the years has, is…I’m just a quirky kind of guy, so I feel like I can play that quite well.
Yeah, and you’re really known for your comedic ability. Do you find it difficult to change lanes? Obviously, not in terms of capability, but in terms of people looking at your body of work and thinking of you for those more dramatic roles, is there sort of the expectation to always bring the funny?
Uh, yeah. That’s a great question, and usually pretty much everything that I go out for is comedic in nature. Which, obviously, that’s my wheel house and I feel very comfortable in that, but that being said, I really love the opportunity to try something more dramatic with less emphasis on being funny.
And was a good opportunity, it was a fine balance, because there is a lot of humor but it’s very kind of subtle and under the radar. He has those eccentricities but at the same time, it’s still—I wasn’t playing it for the laughs. It was more, you know, to express my concern that he [Mads’ character] is going to be retiring, and kind of warning him that there’s some things to watch out for.
So, I love that. It’s a cool thing to kind of stretch a different muscle. And, again, with all the improv I’ve done over the years, that’s where I’ve really developed not just comedic skills but acting skills as well. And listening, and being honest and real in those moments, so, um, I feel it’s an easier transition for comedians to slip into dramatic roles rather than more traditional or dramatic actors that are trying to get into comedy.
That being said, too, I just love exploring a different kind of world and also doing a role where it’s not like I’m playing an elf. And, you know, I’ve had some great elf moments, but to be recognized more as someone who is for sure a character actor, but also like ‘Wow, this person actually has chops.’
And just because the person looks physically different, based on their height for example, that’s not the punch line. That’s not the funny thing about it, and so yeah, it’s pretty cool to stretch a different kind of muscle and to be seen in that kind of a way too.
Yes. I’ve definitely noticed a positive trend in a lot of projects recently involving people of all different types and walks of life. And I think it does, you know, a better job of showing what you really see in the world. I think for a long time we got stuck in this kind of cycle of we only see one type of person reflected back at us from media and tv. And it gets so boring, because life is about variety, and that’s what I like to see, I think that’s what people want to see and there’s been some confusion about that over years.
Yeah, yeah. I totally agree. My background is British—like, I’m Canadian, but my parents are both Scottish. And so we grew up watching like a lot of British TV and such, and it’s really cool to see that…Britain reflects a lot of diversity and kind of like gritty, real-life, you don’t have to be this wonderfully sculpted person.
Because the world is full of differences and people of all different sizes, shapes and everything so it is nice to see that casting is looking—because I think that’s just where it is. That’s the real world, what people look like and, yeah, it’s a nice thing to be cast in stuff where it isn’t just a comedic punchline just because someone looks different.
Right. And in terms of mixing it up a bit, and bringing it back to your other character, Pogo, from The Umbrella Academy. He certainly seems to fit that bill. What can you tell us about him without spoiling too much?
Yeah! Pogo’s a great character. He’s an evolved chimpanzee, he’s partnered with Reginald Hargreeves, who’s an industrial billionaire that’s adopted all of these children. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the story, but all of these children—forty-some-odd children were born on the same day to different mothers who were not pregnant the day before—and, so, Hargreeves goes and adopts…a few, seven, I believe. So, he raises them, and we discover that they have special abilities.
It’s really cool because the character, Pogo, is this creation, basically. He’s been a chimpanzee, but Sir Reginald Hargreeves, through some experiments in his lab, has made him evolve into a very intelligent, very graceful, heartfelt character. Who, really, was I think more of the parental figure within the family…Professor Hargreeves couldn’t really express affection or love, or anything like that. He was very, uh, tough on the kids that he raised.
So, you know, we talked about playing different styles. Pogo is not…comedic. I mean, he has some funny—but he’s just a very beautiful, gentle creature who’s very humanlike. So, that was a really cool opportunity getting to play a character that is very worldly, and I think is very fond with the kids and family unit. Who wants to do his best, and I think people…
I was at the premier last night, here in LA, and we saw the first three episodes and it looks fantastic. He’s a very loveable character; he wears tweed jackets and walks with a cane.
Yes, I love that. I saw a still of Pogo recently and my first thought was that he looks amazing.
Yeah, and I think he really adds a lot to the beautiful world that they created. And I also love that he’s just a really good guy, and he wants the best for people. So, he’s trying to, you know, serve his master, and serve the family. And yeah, it was a real thrill and honor, to get to play—to physicalize—Pogo.
I’ve never done motion-capture stuff before—done a lot of prosthetic work in the past, but to do motion-capture. And, again, to do something that I’m not used to, that doesn’t necessarily come super easy, like playing more dramatic roles where I’m not going for a laugh…
I like that being able to not play comedic characters forever, it’s like—I’m going to play everything. And to play and physicalize Pogo, which is a real pleasure…he’s a very interesting character and as I said he’s got a good heart…I think people will really respond to him.
Yeah, and you’re working with Peter Jackson’s company, while another actor voices the character. What is it like, are you more aware of your body? Because ninety percent of communication is body language, right, and so with the focus being on acting his body, are you more aware of it or is it more intuitive?
You know, that’s a great question. I though there was a really cool evolution. And, of course, I was super conscious starting out. Like, how does Pogo…I’m not just playing a chimpanzee; I’m playing a chimpanzee who’s been evolved, who speaks and he’s also very dignified and very intelligent and so I’m trying to visualize that.
And, at the same time, he’s also elderly. So, there’s another one…another element to be mindful of. And what I really enjoyed was the evolution of playing him and discovering more things, over time…I would learn a new physicality or something, to be able to be very present and to respond and to react off what the cast were saying…so, discovering more and more nuances and going deeper into physicalizing him.
So, where we started to where we finished, for me, it was a really interesting process…And I don’t know if that evolution will show, or read necessarily, but I know for myself, that was a really cool journey…and funny enough, there was a wonderful feeling to physicalize him. Especially as we were coming to the end, wrapping for the season, there was something really comforting of getting into that old chimpanzee…like how he walks with his cane, I could really feel him. It was a really beautiful experience.
I had my own kind of evolution, from where we started to where we finished, and we wanted to not play up the chimpanzee and we didn’t want it to appear to human as well, so, it was kind of like walking the fine line. And I would consult with the directors, and also consult with the special effects people, like, ‘How did that look? Did that look more human?’ Or, dial that down, dial this up, you know, and of course be open to redirections and things like that so I felt like it was what I projected but also inputs from the directors and inputs from the special effects people as well. Just ‘cause I, you know, we really wanted Pogo to look as believable as possible.
And, I gotta say, seeing it last night I’m like, wow, he looks fantastic. So real, so lifelike. Amazing.
Yeah, this is similar—Or, I think this is exactly what Sean Gunn does for Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Oh cool! Yeah.
And I’m curious, do you think this is an expanding sector of the industry? Where, more and more, you have these very realistic, CGI characters and different aspects of them are performed by multiple actors. Did you get that sense?
Um, actually, that’s a good question. I mean…I don’t know. It seems like that could be a possibility and, for me, it’s like the old improv adage. You know, when opportunity comes, I love to say yes. Because you gain so much from these experiences, and to enter into that world of motion-capture, for me, was just very exciting. In some ways, more challenging, but in a lot of ways, easier.
Like I said before, I’m used to doing a lot of prosthetic work. So, at least a couple of hours to have these wonderful builds, so it was a very different experience. To show up on set and just get into my motion-capture suit which would take like ten or fifteen minutes. I’m like, ‘Great! I’m good!’
Yes, I’ve seen your make-up for People of Earth. That looked intense.
Exactly. So, who knows? Maybe. It was really awesome, actually, last night was—for the first time, I got to meet Adam Godley, who is the voice for Pogo. Very, like, refined English. He’s such a lovely guy, and it was so funny…we were doing the red carpet, and they were asking me, ‘What was it like to work with Adam?’
And, he was standing literally right beside me, but I hadn’t even met him at that point. [Laugher]. I was like, ‘Well, I gotta talk to him!’ So, I was happy I got to meet him before the screening, and then at the after party as well. So, it was really cool. And who knows, like you’re saying, maybe there is more of this collaborative type of work…motion-capture actors and voice artists and such.
It’s really cool and exciting, because there’s a lot of different stuff that’s being created. Like what you have with CGI and special effects, so it’s really, the sky’s the limit, you know?
How did that come about? How do you audition for something like that or do they [producers] just have an idea about who would work for it?
For me, it was an audition. I auditioned in Toronto and at that point I think it was body and voice...Again, working with my acting coach, because I want to do a good job. So, after a lot of preparation, I go in, do the audition and it was like one of those auditions, too, where I’m like, ‘That felt good. Okay. I did a really good job on that.’
And then I think a couple weeks went by, and I hadn’t heard anything, like there weren’t any call backs or anything, and I’m thinking, ‘That’s kinda weird.’ And then my agent called, and they’re like, ‘There’s an offer for just the body parts; they had another idea for the voice.’ Things change, that’s the nature of the business, and they asked if I’d be interested, and I said, yeah, absolutely. Sounds Amazing.
That’s a cool experience to have. I’m going to bring it back to the beginning of our conversation. Your recent projects being with Netflix, do you think there might be some opportunity for a stand-up special? And I ask not because I’m trying to put you back into a box, but because that seems to be a thing that they are very good at. And I don’t think stand-up fans have ever been so spoiled. Is that something you’d be interested in doing, or are you trying to sort of step away from that?
Well…that’s a great question. I…I would say yes if they were like, ‘Hey, we’d love to do a Netflix special, for you to do stand-up.’ I would be like, awesome, let’s do it. Then, I’d be like, okay…I actually don’t do a lot of stand-up. I do more like improv, and so then I’d have to do like a crash course in stand-up. And really like create sixty minutes worth of material.
Um, so, that’s just how I am. I’m sort of wired in that way. Like, I would say yes to the opportunity, but because I…I don’t do a lot of—I’ve done stand-up, but maybe like twenty times in my life. It’s more of like…my wheel house is more improv, or sketch…but if they want to do an improv special…I think that would be amazing.
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I can’t help but agree. If you’re listening, Netflix, maybe that could be your next comedy special?
Thank you so much to Ken Hall for taking time to sit down and speak with me about
Polar and
The Umbrella Academey, both now streaming on Netflix.
Have you already streamed one or both of these Netflix originals? Tell us what you thought in the comments! As always, thank you for reading!