Andy Serkis, the actor who helped bring Gollum, also known as Sméagol, to the screen in 'The Lord of the Rings' films, is looking back on the technology that made the character possible, and on his changing attitude toward how it is perceived.
Gollum, a central figure in the franchise, was created through a combination of Serkis' performance and computer-generated elements, using performance capture and CGI. In a recent interview with the Times, Serkis said he 'never really cared about' being linked in the public mind with his collection of digitally altered characters, a group that also includes Kong in 'King Kong' and Caesar in the 'Planet of the Apes' trilogy.
'Because this technology is so misunderstood. I used to be evangelical. I've talked for hours about how performance capture is acting and watched eyes glaze over, but life's too short. I calmed down. Now I just think, 'If you get it? Great,'' he said.
Serkis drew a comparison between his digital work and more traditional screen transformations. 'Performances like Gollum are authored by an actor in the same way a prosthetics team engineered John Hurt in 'The Elephant Man.'' He added: 'But, for some reason, a performance underneath a physical mask is more understandable to some than this, which is a digital mask.'
The debate over how such performances should be judged has intensified this year. In May, 'Lord of the Rings' filmmaker Peter Jackson argued that the growing anxiety over artificial intelligence in film is one reason Serkis has not, and likely never will, receive awards recognition for playing Gollum.
'A lot of the current environment, everyone's so worried about AI .. I don't think a Gollum-type character or a generated character has any hope for winning any awards,' Jackson said at the time. 'Which is a bit unfair, especially in the Andy Serkis case where it's not an AI-generated performance. It's a human-generated performance 100% of the way.'
Serkis is currently filming 'The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,' in which he returns to the role while also directing. The film is scheduled to open in theaters on Dec. 17, 2027.
The production brings back several familiar names from the franchise: Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo and Lee Pace as King Thranduil. New additions to the ensemble include Kate Winslet as Marigol, Jamie Dornan as Strider, Leo Woodall as Halvard and Anya Taylor-Joy as an elf.
Serkis also has a new book. His memoir, 'My Pressures: The Bizarrely True Story of Andy Serkis,' arrived in stores on Tuesday.
