Duncan Cast As a Gorilla in Movie

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Michael Clarke Duncan is going ape. <br><br>The giant actor, who was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in ``The Green Mile,'' has been cast

Monday, October 16th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Michael Clarke Duncan is going ape.

The giant actor, who was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in ``The Green Mile,'' has been cast as a silverback gorilla in the remake of the classic ``Planet of the Apes.''

Duncan told the Oct. 20 edition of Entertainment Weekly that his training to play a talking simian has been weird.

``You have to learn to roll your shoulders forward, hunch your back, and round out your arms the way apes do,'' he said. ``I'm also learning how to pick things up with a curved arm.''

Duncan said co-star Tim Roth was already inhabiting his character.

``Tim's excellent, because he's a chimpanzee and shorter to the ground; he kind of looks the part already,'' said Duncan.