If you know anything about Netflix The Umbrella AcademyYou know that Pogo was completely understaffed.
The creepy old CGI monkey was the experiment of a megalomaniac who adopted seven children and gave them numbers as names. But it was the sentient chimpanzee who, because of his role in keeping secrets from the Hargreeves, became a subject of fan hatred, like the fact that one of them has superpowers capable of taking a piece out of the moon. (If you haven't seen this show about a dysfunctional, overpowering family trying to prevent the apocalypse - yes, it's crazy. And ridiculously entertaining.)
Spare yourself a thought now for the man who played pogo. More specifically: pogos body. While English actor Adam Godley developed his handsome chimpanzee voice and delivered the facial performance captured by the people at Weta (The Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Ape Magician for visual effects), Canadian Ken Hall joined the Umbrella Academy team as a body from Pogo, who is physically on the set, wearing the motion capture suit and saying all of his lines.
His face would never be shown on the screen.
Did that confuse Hall?
"I know my lines inside out, even though I know it won't be my voice at the end of the day," Hall tells me of a zoom call from Toronto. "But showing yourself and playing other people is a big advantage for them. I don't just say words. I do it physically. I am Pogo. "
So short answer: No.
Hall was pretty much a regular member of the cast during the first season production in Toronto and Ontario in 2018. His hard work, good attitude, and physical skills, which he had accumulated as a veteran in the improvisation scene in Toronto, had not gone unnoticed.
"One thing I heard from some other actors that I didn't even know at the time was the appreciation of how cool it was to play against me. Because I gave them a lot of really good things to respond to," says Hall.
"I didn't know it affected her more deeply."
Hall wasn't just a hit with the cast. Showrunner Steve Blackman, who built his adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's comic into a radiant, charismatic ensemble with the Oscar-nominated Ellen Page, recognized Hall's commitment and talent.
"Ken knew that he was going to be removed and gave 150% emotional performance every day. Ellen Page and the other actors had this wonderful person to act against and with, so it made a big difference," Blackman said last to IndieWire year.
Blackman went one step further and rewarded Hall with an offer halfway through the six-month shoot: a new role.
"They wrote and said, 'Hey, do you want to play that role?'" Hall recalls. "'I would absolutely love it. Play a person.'"
So Hall became Herb and this time wore a different suit as a commission agent to keep an eye on the space-time continuum. Basically, it must be ensured that events occur that should occur.
Herb appeared in one episode. But understand that: Hall impressed Blackman again. So much that ... Hall met five Episodes in season 2 (including Pogo in a flashback scene - but not Baby Pogo).
"He really liked the work I did, and as you can see in Season 2, Herb will play a much bigger role," says Hall. "Again, I'm grateful to have this opportunity forever."
"You start work and people notice it."
The season 2 game changer
Season 2 spoilers: Herb literally changes the game for the Hargreeves, helping Diego look at the timeline and find out what is causing Doomsday. He begins resistance to The Handler after she takes over the commission and is eventually elected acting chairman to give the Hargreeves a briefcase for the time portal so they can go home where they belong.
Herb changes from the suppressed typist from case management to a certified hero with happy lines like "We also offer body removal services."
When he's not on the ranks of superhero television, Hall has returned to zoom improvisation shows and career counseling, his first job before he started acting (his first big break came in 2016 in science fiction Comedy series People of Earth). He also has an exciting new radio show in progress for people with disabilities through a comedic lens.
The role he played in the Umbrella Academy is a huge asset to the physical diversity on the screen.
"The performance made me the best version of me," says Hall. "And so I feel very happy that I can help other people with it."
Now watch the second season of the Umbrella Academy on Netflix.
