# Meet the 'Project Hail Mary' Puppeteer Who Brought Rocky to Life

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sag-aftra-205933/meet-the-project-hail-mary-puppeteer-who-brought-rocky-to-life
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sag-aftra-205933/meet-the-project-hail-mary-puppeteer-who-brought-rocky-to-life.md
Podcast: [SAG-AFTRA](https://stenobird.com/podcast/sag-aftra-205933)
Published: 2026-05-28T17:09:00+00:00
Episode link: https://sagaftra.libsyn.com/meet-the-project-hail-mary-puppeteer-who-brought-rocky-to-life
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/sagaftra/James_Ortiz_v2.mp3?dest-id=972716
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sag-aftra-205933/episodes/meet-the-project-hail-mary-puppeteer-who-brought-rocky-to-life
Duration seconds: 2130

## Resource

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.

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## Transcript

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