<Ul> <Li> Mark Wahlberg as Captain Leo Davidson A United States Air Force astronaut who accidentally opens a portal to another world inhabited by talking human - like apes and is captured by them . Leo leads a rebellion of the planet's humans . Wahlberg had backed out of a commitment to Ocean's Eleven to take this role in Planet of the Apes . (Matt Damon was eventually cast in the Ocean's Eleven role .) Whereas other actors contending for the Leo Davidson role wanted to see the script before signing a contract, Wahlberg signed on after a five - minute meeting with Burton . To avoid evoking associations with his previous work as an underwear model, Wahlberg did not wear a loincloth, even though Heston had worn one in the original film . </Li> <Li> Tim Roth as General Thade A sinister chimpanzee military commander who wants control over the ape civilization . Thade also intends to marry Ari, but she dismisses him . Roth turned down the role of Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone because of his commitment to Planet of the Apes . Alan Rickman was eventually cast as Snape . Roth rewrote some scenes to give his character a more frightening presence . </Li> <Li> Helena Bonham Carter as Ari A female chimpanzee who protests the way humans are treated . She helps Leo lead the rebellion, and also develops a romantic attraction to him . </Li> <Li> Michael Clarke Duncan as Colonel Attar A gorilla military officer and Thade's closest associate and second - in - command . Djimon Hounsou had turned down the role because of scheduling conflicts with The Four Feathers . </Li> <Li> Estella Warren as Daena A female slave who, like Ari, develops a romantic attraction to Leo . </Li> <Li> Kris Kristofferson as Karubi Daena's father . Karubi is killed by Thade while trying to escape . Kristofferson had immediately agreed to be cast . "The director Tim Burton is a hero of mine . I have eight kids and we've seen all of his films from Pee - wee's Big Adventure to Sleepy Hollow many times ." </Li> <Li> Cary - Hiroyuki Tagawa as General Krull A gorilla and former military leader whose career had been destroyed by Thade . Krull became a servant of Senator Sandar and assisted the humans in their rebellion . </Li> <Li> Paul Giamatti as Limbo A comical orangutan who works in the trade business of human slaves . Limbo is caught in the conflict between humans and apes and tries his best to simply survive . Giamatti drew inspiration from W.C. Fields for his performance . While his prosthetic makeup was being applied, Giamatti watched episodes of Ultraman and various Japanese Godzilla films . </Li> <Li> Jonah (uncredited) as Pericles A chimp student trained by Leo at the US Air Force space station training other chimps and orangutans to fly space pods . He is launched on a mission that involves traveling through an electromagnetic storm . He appears in only a few scenes, interacting mainly with Leo and in the ending scene with Ari . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Mark Wahlberg as Captain Leo Davidson A United States Air Force astronaut who accidentally opens a portal to another world inhabited by talking human - like apes and is captured by them . Leo leads a rebellion of the planet's humans . Wahlberg had backed out of a commitment to Ocean's Eleven to take this role in Planet of the Apes . (Matt Damon was eventually cast in the Ocean's Eleven role .) Whereas other actors contending for the Leo Davidson role wanted to see the script before signing a contract, Wahlberg signed on after a five - minute meeting with Burton . To avoid evoking associations with his previous work as an underwear model, Wahlberg did not wear a loincloth, even though Heston had worn one in the original film . </Li> <Li> Tim Roth as General Thade A sinister chimpanzee military commander who wants control over the ape civilization . Thade also intends to marry Ari, but she dismisses him . Roth turned down the role of Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone because of his commitment to Planet of the Apes . Alan Rickman was eventually cast as Snape . Roth rewrote some scenes to give his character a more frightening presence . </Li> <Li> Helena Bonham Carter as Ari A female chimpanzee who protests the way humans are treated . She helps Leo lead the rebellion, and also develops a romantic attraction to him . </Li>

Who plays the ape in planet of the apes 2011