About this episode

James Ortiz discusses his role as the alien Rocky in the film Project Hail Mary and his journey in puppeteering.

One of the biggest movie surprises of 2026 has been the sci-fi blockbuster Project Hail Mary. Actor, puppeteer and puppet designer James Ortiz joins the show to discuss his groundbreaking performance as the five-legged alien Rocky in the film. James shares his journey from landing the role with a homemade puppet audition to building on-set chemistry with Ryan Gosling, describing how what began as a job focused on puppeteering evolved into one of the most talked-about performances of the year. *The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organization or SAG-AFTRA.

People in this episode

Guest: James Ortiz

Topics covered

• puppeteering
• film performance
• sci-fi
• behind the scenes
• actor journey

Keywords

• puppeteer
• Rocky
• James Ortiz
• Project Hail Mary
• Ryan Gosling
• film
• performance

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Project Hail Mary

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