If there is one person more precious to theThe Lord of the Rings, then it isAndy Serkis. Having played the role of Gollum in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, reprised the role forThe Hobbit, and subsequently recorded audiobook versions of both books andThe Silmarillion, Serkis has embedded himself in the fantasy works of Tolkien more than anyone. Now he is about to return to the franchise again as the director of the new movie,The Hunt for Gollum.However, things could have been different if he had turned down the role of Gollum, which he really did not like when it was offered to him.
Serkis recently spoke about his reaction to being offered the role of Gollum while appearing at aFan Expo San Francisco, explaining how he had no real interest in the role after misunderstanding what the role entailed. He said:
“When I was first approached to play the role, it was explained to me by my agent when I first spoke to them on the phone about it. They said, ‘Look, they’re making this little film down in New Zealand called Lord of the Rings, and they want to see you for a voice for a digital character.’ And I was like, ‘What? There must be a dozen good roles in that movie. Can you not get me up for something decent?’ And they said, ‘Well, it is Gollum.’ And I said, ‘That’s a decent role. Yeah, okay, alright, I’m listening.’
But originally, it was explained to me that it was just going to be the voice. And then when I met Peter Jackson and auditioned, he explained that they were just on the verge of trying out this new technology called motion capture, and that he wanted an actor to be on set to act with the other actors. Because up to that point, many CG characters were only represented by a tennis ball on a stick, and the actors had to pretend that they were having a relationship with it.”
Gollum Provided Andy Serkis with an Incredible Pioneering Role
Despite his initial trepidation about the role, taking on the part of Gollum became a life-changing event for Serkis.One of the biggest aspects of the role was getting into the role in a more physical sense than many CGI characters of the time.He had to literally become Gollum on set. Serkis said:
“Gollum, as many people know, drives a lot of the scenes and drives the wedges between Frodo and Sam, and it’s all about the interaction. He wanted an actor to play that character. Motion capture aside, I just approached it like any other role, getting into the psychology and the physicality and then the voice. And none of those could be separated for me. I can’t just come up with a voice; it doesn’t work like that for me as an actor. So, I started to think about the guilt that Gollum felt from killing his cousin and how that guilt was trapped, and I decided it was trapped in his throat. Then that kind of involuntary action helps propel the sound of Gollum.”
Another Live-Action Lord of the Rings Movie Is Now in the Works
Gandalf will play a major role in the franchise going forward.
Of course,Serkis became one of the first actors to truly embody a character in the way motion capture allowed Gollum to be rendered on screen.This led to him returning to motion capture to play King Kong in Jackson’s remake of the 1933 monster movie, andbecoming a true pioneer of the technologyas it continued to develop. Now, having directed several big movies, includingVenom: Let There Be Carnage,Serkis will be in the director’s chair for Warner Bros. Discovery’s return to Middle EarthwithThe Hunt for Gollum, coming full circle on hisLord of the Ringsjourney.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
