[Photo provided to China Daily]

"My acting teacher in London used to say 'acting is to be faithful to imaginary circumstances'. My job (on the set) is, when the camera turns over, you pretend you're face to face with the giant animals.

"So I tried to remember the times in my life when I saw majestic, powerful animals," he says, citing his encounters with wild tigers in India and sperm whales in the Pacific Ocean.

"Those experiences made me feel that I was in the presence of creatures whose intelligence I did fully understand."

Kong: Skull Island topped the US box office in its first weekend, beating the Wolverine finale Rogan.

The success of the film has encouraged Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment to bring forward their plan to make a Godzilla movie to 2018 and to make another Kong-vs-Godzilla movie in 2020.

Dai Degang, an assistant professor of literature at the Beijing Film Academy, says the commercial success of monster movies depends not only on their scary scenes, but also on their examination of social and historical conflicts and humanity beyond the tales.

"Kong movies always provide a surprise and freshness when they portray the ugly, colossal beasts," Dai says.

"They also reflect social issues, which resonate with audiences."

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn