James Ortiz, a performer best known for his stage work, plays Rocky, a spider-like alien who helps Ryan Gosling’s spacefaring science teacher in “Project Hail Mary.” Ortiz’s role was confirmed in the latest trailer for the Amazon MGM Studios release, which was released on Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Christopher Miller, co-director with Phil Lord, said in a tweet that Ortiz was “Ryan’s voice and scene partner on set. He was Rocky.” “Project Hail Mary” is a film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Andy Weir. Speculation has been rife online as to who will play reader favorite Rocky. Miller also revealed that Priya Kansara (Bridgerton, Polite Society) will play Mary, the voice of the Hail Mary. The cast also includes Sandra Hüller, nominated for an Oscar for her role in Anatomy of the Fall.
Ortiz is an award-winning actor, director, performer, and designer. In 2022, he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Puppet Design for the dinosaurs he created for Lincoln Center’s Tony Award-nominated production “The Skin of Our Teeth.” His acclaimed off-Broadway production of The Woodsman won him the 2016 OBIE Award for Excellence in Puppet Design, and his interpretation of Milky White in the 2022 Broadway revival of Into the Woods was a highlight of the production. Other credits include “El Gato Con Botas” (Tectonic Theater Project) and “On the Head of a Pin” (Strangemen & Co.).
This fall, Ortiz’s puppetry designs will be featured in the world premiere of the operatic adaptation of George Saunders’ novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” at the Metropolitan Opera.
Ortiz is repped by CAA.
