Andy Serkis is a British actor, director, and author of Iraqi and Armenian descent, known for his groundbreaking portrayal as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies alongside other roles.
He was recipient of the 2020 BAFTA Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award.[1] Recently, amidst quarantine, Serkis read aloud the whole of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit on his YouTube channel.[2]
Biography[]
Career[]
After an education at Lancaster University, Andy Serkis was highly involved in theater, and began acting on screen in 1989.
In 2001, he provided the voices of the Witch-king of Angmar and Khamûl in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and voiced the roles of Mauhúr, Snaga, and most significantly Gollum/Sméagol in the rest of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. For Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy (2012 - 2014), he portrayed Gollum again and was also second unit director.
Serkis is otherwise known for portraying the ape Caesar in the newest Planet of the Apes film series, beginning 2011, with performance-capture acting. He stars in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) as Supreme Leader Snoke, and plays Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Black Panther (2018).
In 2018, he directed the Netflix film Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
Character of Gollum[]
Serkis' acclaimed work as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films - a job initially presented as a three-week voice acting commitment, barely appealing to him until he read the trilogy[3] - became unprecedented in cinema, and raised the standards of performance-capture acting. He wrote of his experiences in the book Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic (2003) and in his afterword to Gary Russell's The Art of The Two Towers.
In 2014, Liam O'Brien imitated Serkis' signature Gollum-voice for the character's portrayal in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.
Serkis is requested frequently to recreate his Gollum-voice when appearing on talk-shows. As a guest of The Late Late Show with James Corden in November 2018, he taught how to "do a perfect Gollum".[4]
Documentary appearances[]
- The Lord of the Rings film trilogy appendices
- Part Three: The Journey Continues > The Taming of Sméagol
- Part Four: The Battle for Middle-earth Begins > Cameras in Middle-earth and "The Battle for Helm's Deep is Over..."
- Part Five: The War of the Ring > Designing and Building Middle-earth > Costume Design
- Part Six: The Passing of an Age > Editorial: Completing the Trilogy
References[]
- ↑ https://www.screendaily.com/news/andy-serkis-to-receive-bafta-for-outstanding-contribution-to-cinema/5146434.article
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52568497
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Extended Edition appendices Part Three: The Journey Continues, "The Taming of Sméagol", 0:04:50
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvf1gZdkWUI
External links[]
Sean Astin • Sean Bean • Cate Blanchett • Orlando Bloom • Billy Boyd • |
The Hobbit films actors | |
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Richard Armitage • John Bell • Manu Bennett • Cate Blanchett • Orlando Bloom • Jed Brophy • Adam Brown • John Callen • Benedict Cumberbatch • Luke Evans • Martin Freeman • Stephen Fry • Ryan Gage • Mark Hadlow • Peter Hambleton • Craig Hall • Sir Ian Holm • Stephen Hunter • Robin Kerr • William Kircher • Sir Christopher Lee • Evangeline Lilly • Sir Ian McKellen • Graham McTavish • James Nesbitt • Mary Nesbitt • Peggy Nesbitt • Dean O'Gorman • Lee Pace • Mikael Persbrandt • John Rawls • Andy Serkis • Conan Stevens • Ken Stott • Aidan Turner • Stephen Ure • Hugo Weaving • Elijah Wood |