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Dr. Zaius was a fictional character in the Pierre Boulle novel Planet of the Apes, and the film series and television series based upon it (although in Boulle's novel, his honorific was "Mi," not "Doctor" -- a term in the Ape language). He was an orangutan, and was the main antagonist of the story. Zaius was portrayed in the first and second films of the series by actor Maurice Evans, in the later television series by Booth Colman, and voiced in the animated series by Richard Blackburn.

Zaius serves a dual role in Ape society, as Minister of Science in charge of advancing ape knowledge, and also as Chief Defender of the Faith. In the latter, he has access to ancient scrolls and other information not given to the ape masses. Zaius knows the true origins of the ape society, how mankind fell as the dominant species, and the reasons why the Forbidden Zone is so regarded...and blames human nature for it all. Zaius prefers a stagnant, imperfect, faith-based ape culture that keeps humans in check, to the open, scientific, human-curious one proposed by Cornelius and Zira's generation, while the idea of an intelligent human (such as Taylor) threatening the balance of things frightens him deeply. Knowing the destruction that humanity (with the aid of technology) caused in its downfall, he doesn't want even the possibility that ape society could suffer the same doom.

At the end of the first movie, Zaius has Cornelius's archaeological findings (human artifacts, predating the Ape society) destroyed, and Cornelius and Zira arrested on heresy charges. By the second movie (Beneath the Planet of the Apes), Cornelius recalls how Zaius brought them to trial, but then moved for clemency on their behalf. When Zaius leaves on a military expedition with General Ursus to explore the Forbidden Zone, Zaius trusts them both to continue his work. (In the novel version of Beneath, they instead begin a revolt, once the gorilla army is gone.)

In the television series, Zaius serves as a government official, with authority over all the humans in his district. The young chimpanzee Galen becomes his new assistant, but becomes a fugitive with two human astronauts, fleeing from Zaius and his enforcer, General Urko. As the TV series was set 900 years before the movies, presumably this Zaius was a different character.

In the animated series, Zaius again serves as a government official, who holds influence within the Ape Senate, and has authority over both Cornelius and Zira, and their scientific enterprises, as well as General Urko and his military.

In The Simpsons episode 3F15, A Fish Called Selma, Dr. Zaius was featured prominently in a song in a musical version of Planet of the Apes. The song is a parody of Rock Me Amadeus by Falco. Seinfeld also makes reference to Dr. Zaius. Elaine and Puddy (who is wearing a large fur coat) walk into Joe Mayo's apartment, and she says, sarcastically, "I think you know Dr. Zaius."

• Dr. Zaius at the Internet Movie Database