Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis recalls being mocked over Gollum role
Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis is well-known for his role as Gollum, but the actor has revealed that he was initially mocked over it.
The star's motion capture performance as the villain proved groundbreaking in the movie industry, and Serkis has reflected in a new interview on how there was initial scepticism from his contemporaries.
"When Lord Of The Rings originally came out, there would be literally people who would say: 'Who is that character? Is he a dancer? Is he a contortionist?'" he told GQ.
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Speaking further about how his fellow actors reacted to the idea of motion capturing, Serkis recalled: "Older actors were like: 'You wouldn't catch me dead doing motion capture. It's the end of our profession.' I literally heard someone saying that.
"There were lots of jokes about it; you know, Saturday Night Live things with people in suits with ping pong balls attached. It was ripe for ridiculing – and rightly so."
Still, he no doubt had the last laugh, with everything from Marvel movies to the Avatar series now using the technology, while Serkis himself continued to use motion capture in the likes of King Kong, Planet of the Apes and Star Wars.
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The star also predicted that there will come a point soon that an actor will "absolutely" win an Oscar for a motion capture performance, suggesting: "It hasn't happened yet, but it will. I think it's imminent."
In other Lord of the Rings news, it was confirmed last week that more movies based on JRR Tolkien's works are on the way after studio Warner Bros Discovery struck a deal with rights holders Middle-earth Enterprises.
Original director Peter Jackson and screenwriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens said Warner Bros had been in touch "every step of the way", adding: "We look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward."
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