Incredible deleted scene from Rise of the Planet of the Apes DVD

Yahoo! Movies managed some amazing behind-the-scenes footage from Rise of the Planet of the Apes (out now on DVD) that shows what it takes to play a computer-generated ape.

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It’s a deleted scene from the surprisingly excellent sci-fi prequel, which sees villainous ape Caesar (played by Andy Serkis) showing off his uncanny toy-building and puzzle-making skills to scientist James Franco.

However, as the scene never made it into the final film, the ridiculously impressive computer-generated mo-cap trick that brought Caesar to life wasn’t used – so we see Serkis, wearing a gray T-shirt, jumping around instead .

Watch the video below.

It’s a side of motion capture we don’t usually see, and it’s amazing how real Serkis’ ape impression is, from the noises to the monkey jumps. Incredibly, he also keeps a straight face throughout.

It also makes you wonder if Serkis — who has been widely praised for his performance in the film — could be the first actor to not physically appear in an Oscar-nominated film.

Studio boss Tom Rothman, who helmed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, has already admitted that 20th Century Fox is campaigning hard for him to land a deal.

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He said: “I think we might be at the point where we’ll see a Hollywood premiere this year.

“Which is to see Andy Serkis nominated for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Planet of the Apes,’ even though his face never appears, but his performance does, so we’re going to do it hard.”

We also think James Franco deserves some kind of award… for not getting off every two minutes.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is out on DVD and Blu-ray now.