See Planet Of The Apes Selling Pepsi With An Oscar-Nominated Actor
Paul Giamatti is a well-respected actor, nominated for multiple Oscars with a filmography that includes beloved genre movies and critically acclaimed films alike. But in 2001 his role in Planet of the Apes led to him selling Pepsi while in costume as an orangutan. Seeing the commercial now is an odd, but fun, cultural relic.
The commercial is a fun reminder that one of the best actors of the last few decades had humble beginnings.
The short commercial features Paul Giamatti, reprising his role as the merchant orangutan Limbo, mocking humans as inferior primates with no taste. He then cracks open a can of the soda he’s shilling and excitedly licks his lips as he stares at it. The commercial ends with a promotional tie-in, urging audiences to collect various Planet of the Apes Pepsi bottle caps.
Giamatti was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 for his role in Cinderella Man and Best Actor earlier this year for his role in The Holdovers.
The Pepsi commercial banked on the hype around the Tim Burton reboot of Planet of the Apes. That movie was a commercial success, earning over $363 million at the box office, but received poor reviews and a reputation as one of the weakest movies in the franchise. In addition to Giamatti, the cast included Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kris Kristofferson, Estella Waren, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, David Warner, Erick Avari, Lisa Marie, and Glen Shadix.
The Tim Burton version of Planet of the Apes has been largely forgotten in the wake of the far more successful reboot series that started with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The largely forgotten nature of the movie contributes to the oddity of the Pepsi commercial, reminding viewers that the film happened at all and that it featured Paul Giamatti. Seeing tie-ins for these types of big movies with minimal impact is always fascinating.
Paul Giamatti’s willingness to make a fully costumed Planet of the Apes Pepsi commercial makes more sense in the context of 2001, a few years before his career took off.
But what makes the Planet of the Apes Pepsi commercial so fascinating now is that Paul Giamatti has become so widely respected. Giamatti was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2006 for his role in Cinderella Man and Best Actor earlier this year for his role in The Holdovers. In addition to his accolades, the actor appeared in such notable films as Sideways, American Splendor, 12 Years a Slave, and John Adams.
Paul Giamatti’s willingness to make a fully costumed Planet of the Apes Pepsi commercial makes more sense in the context of 2001, a few years before his career took off. He had been acting since 1990, but most of his roles in the 1990s were minor and he was far from a household name. It’s hard to imagine he would have agreed to the commercial even a few years later, after his 2003 breakout role as Harvey Pekar in American Splendor.
For some, seeing the Planet of the Apes Pepsi commercial may be a source of nostalgia as a reminder of a time when Paul Giamatti was an unknown character actor and the Tim Burton reboot was relevant. For others, it’s just an odd bit of pop culture featuring a prominent actor in a strange costume in an old commercial. Either way, the commercial is a fun reminder that one of the best actors of the last few decades had humble beginnings.
