Gwynne Watkins, Senior Editor for babble.com writes: I thought you might be interested in this Andy Serkis interview I did for the parenting site Babble.com. Some interesting anecdotes about playing Gollum and other characters, and the sometimes-hilarious reactions of his kids… Andy Serkis Interview
Category: Andy Serkis
Pei Ling writes: Hi – I’m not sure if theonering.net posts things like this, but there is an Ebay auction (UK Ebay) for an Andy Serkis Exclusive Hand Designed Plate to benefit a charity. I’m not affiliated in any way, I was just browsing the site and saw the auction. I do believe that Andy has drawn Gollum, which might be of added interest to fans. Big fan of the site – discovered it in the months leading up to the first movie back in September 2001 (has it been that long?!) and it still continues to feed the obsession.
You’ve seen and not seen him, creeping along the slimy stones in hot pursuit of hobbits or hanging around the Empire State Building. But though Andy Serkis has breathed life into iconic characters, some of his most recognizable scenes have involved his demise. “I’m going to cut a show reel together of my great death scenes. I think it could be a bestseller,” says Serkis with a deep-voiced laugh. After all, he has taken a swim in the fires of Mt. Doom in his performance-capture role as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and, perhaps even more memorably, plunged to his death as Kong (not to mention that in his small — human — role as a cook in “King Kong,” he was eaten head-first by a ravenous worm.) “That’s a pretty good one,” Serkis says of becoming worm food. “My son’s been traumatized by that for years. He was about 5 when he saw that. The Freudian nature of his father’s death by CG hasn’t left him, really.” Andy Serkis, a monstrous talent on the loose
Katey Rich cinemablend.com writes: I was surprised to hear that Tintin, Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Belgian comic strip, begins filming this week. This week! Hasn’t this project been in development for so long you thought it would never be made? But this week Andy Serkis is preparing to step into the role of Captain Haddock, Tintin’s hard-drinking but loyal best friend, even as his new movie, Inkheart, opens in theaters.
I spoke to Serkis last week, and while we talked a lot about his villainous role in Inkheart, he was generous enough to talk about Tintin and his return as Gollum in Lord of the Rings as well. I’ve included those parts of our conversation below, which includes his thoughts on both those top-secret projects, working with Doug Jones on The Hobbit, and the rise of motion-capture filmmaking in general. Cinemablend Interviews Andy Serkis
ComingSoon.net talked to Andy Serkis, who stars in the January 23 fantasy-adventure Inkheart, about returning to performance capture in Steven Spielberg’s Tintin, Peter Jackson’s Tintin 2, and The Hobbit. “We are starting ‘Tintin’ the week after next,” Serkis said. “Peter Jackson is producing and Steven Spielberg is directing. I remember reading them as a child. I wasn’t this massive fan. I loved the almost storyboard nature of the beautiful, beautiful drawings. And the way its going to be done… It’s obviously performance capture so it’s is going to be perfect. There isn’t a more perfect way of doing it.” As was previously reported, Spielberg will direct the first film and produce the second, while Jackson will direct the second and produce the first. About The Hobbit, Serkis said that he “met Guillermo prior to him actually being attached. It was all very much going to happen so we met at an awards and sort of giggling at the fact we were going to be working together actually. I am going to really be looking forward to it. I mean the combination between he and Peter is extraordinary as well. I know they are writing at the moment. But other than that, I really have no idea. Peter is producing. Same writing team of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens is writing with Guillermo.” Andy Serkis on Tintin and The Hobbit
From The Sunday Times: He has portrayed some of the most extraordinary characters on screen, from King Kong to Gollum. Now Andy Serkis is emerging from behind the disguises and gaining recognition as a fine actor. Andy Serkis with one of his film characters Gollum on his shoulder. Andy Serkis has made a living out of playing nutters, freaks and psychopaths. So it is more than a little worrying when he tells me that “It’s really hard to come out of character.” He is the Boris Karloff of the 21st century, the actor the top casting directors call for when they want a monster to scare the audience witless. He played the titular 25ft-tall gorilla in the 2005 remake of King Kong, and the loathsome Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the television play Longford, last year, he became the Moors murderer Ian Brady. And we have just seen him in BBC1’s Little Dorrit as the murderous Rigaud, a character he himself has called “a thoroughly nasty piece of work”. Even when Serkis played Einstein — in the BBC film Einstein and Eddington — he brought out the darkness in the Nobel laureate. “It was a dream role,” he says, eyes blazing, hands clasped. “Apart from the great things we know about him, Einstein could be pretty ruthless, manipulative and dark. Ninety per cent of his time and energy was focused on work, and this was one of the biggest regrets of his life He just felt really guilty for screwing up his children, who were part of the sacrifice.” Andy Serkis comes out from behind Gollum and King Kong