<P> Gort does not speak, but he can receive and follow verbal commands (including the famous dialog line "Klaatu barada nikto", spoken by actor Patricia Neal's character toward the end of the film), as well non-verbal commands: at one point, Klaatu communicates with him using reflected signals from a borrowed flashlight . This is not the end of his capability, though, as Gort is also shown acting entirely on his own, both to protect Klaatu from harm and to free himself from encasement in a block of plastic . Gort can also operate highly complex machinery, and is both the pilot and captain of the ship that delivers Klaatu to Earth - all of his "race" have similar ships that they use to patrol the planets . </P> <P> Seemingly unarmed, Gort is in fact armed with a laserlike weapon that is projected from beneath a visor on his head . While the weapon can apparently vaporize any physical object, its effect is variable at Gort's discretion, and is precise enough to destroy a single object without harming anything around it . In its first onscreen use, it vaporized several soldier's guns from their hands while not harming the soldiers at all, and seconds later was used to vaporize tanks and artillery without harming their occupants or any surrounding objects . Gort is also continually aware of Klaatu's physical condition and location without Klaatu needing to wear a tracking device of any sort . Gort is not known to be damageable by any means available to mankind, and can--despite resistance--destroy the Earth itself if he is sufficiently provoked . During most of the film, Gort remains motionless in front of his ship, which rests on the National Mall in central Washington, D.C., while scientists and military researchers attempt to examine both the robot and the ship . </P> <P> He was portrayed by seven - foot, seven - inch (231 cm) - tall actor Lock Martin wearing a thick foam - rubber suit designed and built by Addison Hehr . Two suits were created, fastened alternately from the front or back so that the robot would appear seamless from any angle in the completed scenes . A fiberglass statue of Gort was also used for the close - ups of the firing of his energy beam weapon or when a scene did not require that he move . To maximize the height of the robot, the Gort suit was made with lifts in the boots . Martin could see forward through the suit's visor area during certain shots, and air holes were provided for him under the robot's wide chin and jaw, and these can be seen in several close - ups of Gort's head . </P> <P> The nature of Gort was almost completely altered in the 2008 remake . Gort's name was revised as an acronym assigned to the robot by the United States' military and scientists: G.O.R.T., which stands for "Genetically Organized Robotic Technology". The acronym is only used once . G.O.R.T. is significantly taller than Gort, being about twenty - eight feet tall as opposed to eight feet . Much like the original Gort, G.O.R.T does not speak . Unlike the original Gort, G.O.R.T. is on Earth specifically to save it from humanity: if the human race doesn't change its ecological destructiveness by a certain time, it will destroy humanity to save the Earth's biosphere . He is neutralized by Klaatu at the end of the film with a massive EMP that also shuts down all of humanity's electrical technology . </P>

Who played gort in day the earth stood still