The Monkey: Elijah Wood Joins Horror Film Last Minute, Colin O’Brien Spills Behind-The-Scenes Secrets!
Elijah Wood was cast last minute in The Monkey after an unexpected opportunity arose. Colin O’Brien shares how the actor landed the role and how the team rushed to integrate him into the film. Find out what went down behind the scenes!
Elijah Wood In The Monkey! ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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The Monkey has been creating curiosity amongst horror-loving friends since its trailer was first released a month ago. The movie, which is an adaptation of Stephen King’s short story of the same name, is directed by Osgood “Oz” Perkins. Oz Perkins is known for the horror thriller Longlegs which opened to rave reviews last year.
The movie follows twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn who find a wind-up monkey and mysterious deaths ensue in their family. The horror of the wind-up monkey returns twenty-five years as the deaths begin occurring again and force the now estranged brothers to come face to face with the cursed toy.
Theo James plays the role of the Shelburn brothers, whereas Colin O’Brien plays Petey, Hal’s son. In his interview with Screenrant, Colin mentions how Elijah Wood was cast last minute as Ted Hammerman, Hal’s ex-wife’s new husband. Initially, another actor was cast as Ted Hammerman, but when Perkins learned that Wood would be visiting Vancouver (Canada) for ComicCon, Perkins sent the script upon Wood’s request.
Upon reading the script, Wood readily agreed to play the part of Hammerman, an author and a parenting guru. The team speedily worked to get facial scans of Elijah Wood to create posters and books to be used in the film. O’Brien also applauded Wood’s quick preparation in relatively less amount of time.
Speaking further about the movie’s script, he recalls the first time when he read the script and mentioned, “I felt kind of guilty because I found myself laughing at things I felt like I shouldn’t have been laughing at.” He also added that his experience on working with Theo James has made him appreciate James more than he already did. He applauded Theo’s passion to deliver a dedicated performance in a dual role in this film.
The cast of The Monkey consists of Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy. The Monkey is scheduled to release in the US on February 21, 2025.
