In July 2010, Karin Konoval had just finished filming the first few scenes of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, for which she had been cast as Maurice, a male Bornean orangutan.

She had read every book she could about the shaggy red apes, known for their long powerful arms and flappy cheeks.

But she still felt at a loss with her performance.

“I had all these things I had brought into my body, my psyche, my everything,” the